Construction is set to begin this month on a youth behavioral health center in South Stockton, backed by more than $12 million in state funding secured through a nonprofit tied to a sitting city councilmember. The I Am Ready Stockton Youth Center will rise on an empty lot on South Center Street, directly across from Edison High School, with an opening targeted for fall 2028.
The funding was secured by Jason Lee, who serves on the Stockton City Council, through Hollywood Cares, the nonprofit he founded, according to KCRA. The grant flows from California's Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program, a state initiative aimed at expanding behavioral health treatment capacity and strengthening community-based care statewide, as The Record has reported. That outlet identified Lee as Stockton's vice mayor and reported Hollywood Cares received $12.4 million in conditional state funding through the California Department of Health Care Services for the project.
Once complete, the roughly 20,000-square-foot building is expected to house a community mental health clinic, after-school programs, and a hub where parents and youth can access counseling, per KCRA's reporting. The center will also include 20 respite beds for youth who need a place to stay, and organizers say it will serve local youth and families in the surrounding neighborhood.
State Rules Tie Grant to Bricks and Mortar
Under the terms of the infrastructure grant, the money must fund building construction rather than salaries or ongoing programs, the station reported. The grant is also expected to create prevailing wage jobs during construction, and Lee said the project will allow for hiring local Stockton construction workers. He said investing in Stockton youth will remain a priority, according to KCRA's reporting.
KCRA reported the project has drawn support ranging from county supervisors to members of Congress. The Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program itself stems from 2021 state legislation that authorized the Department of Health Care Services to award $2.2 billion for behavioral-health-related property and mobile-crisis infrastructure, according to a Data.CA.gov dataset of program awardees.
A Different Proposal Was Rejected Last Year
The newly funded project follows a separate, much larger proposal that fell apart on the council floor last October. Stocktonia reported that the council rejected, by a 3-2 vote, a partnership between the city and Hollywood Cares to seek a state grant for renovating the city-owned Teen Impact Center into youth housing. Council members Michele Padilla and Brando Villapudua, along with Mayor Christina Fugazi, voted no, while Michael Blower and Mario Enriquez voted yes, Stocktonia reported.
That earlier bid sought up to $58 million through a second round of the same state infrastructure program and would have required the city to contribute roughly $5.8 million, or 10 percent of the cost, per the same outlet's reporting. Lee recused himself from that vote because of his ties to Hollywood Cares as its founder, Stocktonia reported. The outlet's coverage does not establish whether that rejected Teen Impact Center project and the youth center now breaking ground are connected or share a site.
Stocktonia separately reported that the Teen Impact Center proposal, located at Park and North El Dorado streets, was envisioned by Hollywood Cares managing director Amelia Williamson as a hub for transition-age youth between 18 and 25, particularly those from foster care or underserved minority and LGBTQIA+ communities facing homelessness, trauma, or mental health challenges.
Part of a Broader Statewide Push
The South Stockton project arrives as California has touted a wider rollout of behavioral health infrastructure funding. A statement from the Governor of California highlighted 15 recent projects expanding crisis, residential, youth, tribal, and community-based treatment capacity statewide, part of what the state describes as a more than $5.8 billion investment in behavioral health since 2021.
For now, the focus in South Stockton is on the vacant lot across from Edison High School, where crews are expected to begin work this month. If the fall 2028 timeline holds, the center will mark one of the more tangible local results of that statewide funding push, bringing a mental health clinic, counseling hub, and respite beds to a stretch of the city.
