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Supporters say teen center fills local mental‑health gap; clinicians and teens give personal testimony
Summary
Clinicians, volunteers and teen participants described the Kyle Hyland Foundation’s programs, supervision, and reported outcomes, urging commissioners to approve a permanent location to sustain services including free counseling for Benicia teens.
Clinicians, former staff and teens spent a significant portion of the public comment period explaining how the Kyle Hyland Foundation’s teen center serves vulnerable youth and provides counseling, mentoring and social supports that the speakers said are scarce in Venetia. Several mental‑health professionals and volunteers described program logistics and supervision practices, and multiple teen speakers described personal benefits from attending the center.
Barbara Gervasi described a behavioral‑health component that offers free counseling to Benicia youth ages 12–19 and said the foundation has served about 140 teens in the prior fiscal year, citing sign‑in app data. Clinicians at the hearing described the center as a low‑intensity, supervised environment that connects teens to services and reduces risky behaviors; one speaker who identified herself as a mental‑health clinician urged commissioners to consider the center as a strategic investment in community health.
