Sycamores to Break Ground on New Children’s Crisis Programs in Altadena

Health care and social services provider Sycamores announced it will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, May 16 for new Children’s Crisis Programs at its El Nido campus in Altadena.

The nonprofit’s expansion responds to unprecedented increases in youth depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts by creating dedicated facilities that include crisis beds, a Children’s Crisis Stabilization Unit and a Children’s Psychiatric Health Facility to strengthen the crisis care system for young people in the Altadena/Pasadena area and across Los Angeles County.

“Too many children and teens in crisis are falling through the cracks of a fragmented mental health system. Sycamores’ new Children’s Crisis Programs will help change that,” Sycamores explained in their announcement of the project.

The groundbreaking ceremony will mark the renovation of existing buildings at the El Nido site to accommodate these essential new services.

Special remarks will be delivered by Assemblymember John Harabedian (41st Assembly District), Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Chair, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and Rimmi Hundal, Chief Deputy Director of Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (on behalf of Lisa Wong, Psy.D., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health).

The expansion builds upon Sycamores’ existing role as a key partner in Los Angeles County’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Funding for the project comes in part through California’s Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP).

Today’s mental health crisis among youth has reached unprecedented levels, yet the current crisis care system, especially for children and adolescents, is often fragmented or unavailable—leaving vulnerable young people without the support they urgently need, according to Sycamores.

When youth in crisis are not well served, there is a significant increase in hospitalizations, involvement with the juvenile justice system, homelessness, and long-term mental health challenges.

The new Children’s Crisis Programs will create an age-appropriate, safe place to meet the urgent mental health crisis needs of Los Angeles County’s children and youth. The programs will offer a full crisis continuum of care—allowing youth to receive support at the appropriate level while reducing reliance on emergency rooms and hospitals and keeping the focus on reintegrating young people into the community with trusted caregivers.

The Children’s Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) is a 10-chair facility designed to provide short-term, intensive mental health support, serving annually up to 3,650 children and adolescents experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The CSU offers a safe, home-like environment where youth can receive immediate psychiatric assessment, crisis intervention, medication support, and stabilization services. The goal of the program is to stabilize the immediate crisis, reduce unnecessary hospitalization, and connect youth to ongoing community-based services, promoting long-term recovery and resilience.

Additionally, the programs will feature an 8-bed Children’s Psychiatric Health Facility (PHF), providing secure, short-term intensive psychiatric care for children and adolescents in acute mental health crisis. With capacity to serve up to 288 youth annually, the PHF will offer 24/7 multidisciplinary support to create a safe, therapeutic environment where youth can recover, stabilize, and transition to less restrictive levels of care.