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Impacts of Homelessness on Youth Mental Health

KPCC hosts Call to Mind Live: Impacts of Homelessness on Youth Mental Health, a Well Beings Virtual Tour Event. Take Two’s A Martínez and special guests will explore the mental health effects on homeless youth and talk about the reasons why young people end up on the streets and what help is available – from finding secure housing to trauma therapy. This is an archived stream of the May 27, 2021, virtual livestream event and panel discussion.

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About the Event

About 5,000 young people are currently experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County. The reasons vary from abuse or conflict at home to housing and economic insecurity experienced by families. Now, after more than a year of a global pandemic, many advocates worry those numbers could climb. 

KPCC hosts Call to Mind Live: Impacts of Homelessness on Youth Mental Health, a Well Beings Virtual Tour Event. Take Two’s A Martínez and special guests will explore the mental health effects on homeless youth and talk about the reasons why young people end up on the streets and what help is available – from finding secure housing to trauma therapy.

Hosted by A Martínez, Take Two is a daily magazine show that airs on KPCC 89.3 exploring news and culture through the lens of Southern California.

Registrants may be contacted by Southern California Public Radio, Call to Mind and Well Beings about this and future events.

Call to Mind is American Public Media’s initiative to foster new conversations about mental health. Call to Mind is bringing mental health conversations into the open, increasing public knowledge and engagement, to empower people to find the support they want and need.

About the Host

A Martínez is the host of Take Two and an L.A. native who grew up in Koreatown, attended Daniel Murphy High School, and played baseball at L.A. City College before getting a journalism degree at Cal State Northridge.

A is well known to sports-talk radio listeners in Los Angeles as host of 710 KSPN’s “In the Zone.” He’s done pre and post game shows for most of L.A.’s major professional and college sports teams, and is especially known as the long-time host of “Dodger Talk” and “Laker Line.”

About the Panelists

Daniel Ballin, LCSW, is the Director of Clinical Services at Covenant House California, Hollywood.  As Director, Daniel supervises a team of clinicians and provides individual and group therapy to the youth experiencing homelessness.  Daniel works with the entire Covenant House program and other community agencies to deliver comprehensive and trauma informed services to the Transitional Age Youth (TAY) population.  Prior to his work at Covenant House, Daniel was a manager at the San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Services, Inc., where he oversaw programs that worked directly with youth in the juvenile justice system. Daniel was also a manager at the Weingart Center Association (WCA) in Downtown Los Angeles where he oversaw a residential treatment program for over 130 homeless parolees.

Erin Casey, LCSW, is the director of programs at My Friend’s Place in Hollywood, CA and has 16 years experience creating and implementing trauma informed services and programs for youth and young adults experiencing homelessness in a drop-in, community healing setting.  Erin’s orientation to the work is based on principles of ARC (Attachment, (Self) Regulation & Competency), SJYD (Social Justice Youth Development), harm reduction, and object relations. In her direct youth work, program development, staff supervision and advocacy, Erin centers the experience of homelessness as an issue of social, racial and economic justice.

Sarah Fay is a former foster youth who experienced homelessness. She is now a Campus Peer Navigator at Safe Place for Youth, an organization practicing trauma-informed care for homeless youth through street outreach, case management resources, education and employment programs.


Jennifer Myers is a former foster youth who experienced homelessness. She’s currently an advocate for foster youth and the homeless population, and enjoys supporting those who can’t advocate for themselves.

Angela M. Sanchez is the program officer for College Success at ECMC Foundation, a national funder dedicated to postsecondary opportunities for students. Formerly one of the thousands of homeless students living in Los Angeles, Angela completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UCLA, and now serves on the Board of Directors for School on Wheels, Inc., a Los Angeles–based nonprofit that provides academic support to K-12 students experiencing homelessness. Angela is also the author of Scruffy and the Egg, a children’s picture book about family homelessness and single-parenthood. Angela has participated in KPCC’s programming including Take Two and Unheard LA.


Diane Tanaka, MD is the Medical Director of the Teenage and Young Adult Health Center at the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. In addition, Dr. Tanaka is the Medical Director of the Homeless Adolescent and Young Adult Wellness Clinic and the My Voice Adolescent Transition Program. The Homeless Adolescent and Young Adult Wellness Clinic provide medical care, mental health services, and case management of adolescents and young adults experiencing homelessness in the Hollywood area. The My VOICE Transition Program prepares adolescents and young adults with chronic health conditions to move from child-centered to adult-oriented health care systems.



Related Resources

About The Tour

The Well Beings Tour is making its way to cities across the country, hosted in partnership with local public media stations to present impactful experiences that connect audiences with mental health resources in the local community, strengthen community connections, and destigmatize mental health challenges. The Tour features moderated public discussions that share information and volunteer opportunities from local community and national organizations. The Tour is fostering new conversations about mental health through these local events — live or virtual, based on local public health conditions.

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    WellBeings.org is a mental health resource, not a crisis or suicide response website. If you are in crisis, or experiencing thoughts of suicide, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. The service is free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.