Expanding Youth Health Equity in Los Angeles

Health care access

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit) City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

PHE aims to tackle health equity challenges for, and with, LA County youth. Young Angelenos face daily decisions regarding their mental and physical health. Socioeconomically disadvantaged youth, youth of color, and LGBTQ+ youth in LA County – communities hardest hit by the pandemic – are disproportionately affected by disparities in health education and access to care, amplifying the difficulties they encounter in maintaining healthy lives. For example, LGBTQ+ students in LA County experience higher rates of suicidal ideation compared to their peers, and BIPOC youth frequently lack adequate mental health support. Recent data reveals rising STI rates in California, with elevated incidences among BIPOC youth in LA County. 
Health education is more critical than ever to support young people's well-being and life outcomes. PHE seeks to address these challenges by partnering directly with youth to provide inclusive, identity-affirming health education and facilitate connections to care.

An LA2050 grant will support the expansion of PHE’s youth health equity programs across Los Angeles County through:
Digital Health Solutions: Launched in 2021, selfsea offers accessible, free, youth-driven health content—especially for youth of color, queer, and trans youth. Co-created with young people, selfsea has reached over 661,000 users, including more than 15,000 in LA. It makes it easy for youth to connect to resources, increasing help-seeking behaviors. PHE is expanding selfsea’s localized offerings by adding a Los Angeles–specific filter. This feature will provide inclusive, culturally relevant resources on topics such as mental health, substance use, body image, LGBTQ+ identity, bullying, racism, consent, crisis, family, housing, immigration, spirituality, and Spanish-language support.
Youth Voice and Leadership: At the core of all our work is youth voice. PHE’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB) equitably compensates and engages more than 70 youth nationally, including six from LA, across its four sub-groups:
Community Youth Advocates, who lead health equity projects to address health needs in their communities;  
Youth Brand Ambassadors, who promote selfsea with their peers and within their networks;  
Youth Design Group, shaping the content, look, and feel of digital products and features to provide identity-affirming, accessible resources to all young people;  
and our Advisory Design Team, informing PHE’s evaluation and program design.

If successful, PHE will help transform Los Angeles County into a region where youth—especially those from under-resourced communities—can easily access identity-affirming, youth-approved health resources and lead solutions that impact their well-being. 
Our vision for programmatic success in the following year will include:
engaging 5,000+ new unique LA-based selfsea users and launching a localized LA filter to connect youth to high-quality care; 
double LA County representation on our paid Youth Advisory Board to 12 members, deepening youth leadership in program design. 
Long-term, PHE will scale these efforts to reach more youth across the region, building lasting systems of support that center health equity and youth voice.