With the anticipated expansion of the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, a local organization is proposing the construction of a mental health center for teens in Santa Clarita.

Dr. Gene Dorio, internal medicine specialist in Valencia, is working to raise awareness of a “concerning lack of teen mental health care and resources” in Santa Clarita. Dorio has helped form the grassroots organization MATT (Mental Assistance for Teens, Today!) to urge the City Council to provide teen mental health services at the hospital.

“We have to work hand-in-hand with City Council and L.A. County to get resources available for adolescents which are very limited right now,” Dorio said. “It’s just not up there on the priority list. We need to put these issues on a pedestal and act on it.”

Henry Mayo has requested to expand and extend their Master Plan, which includes the construction of a new hospital tower with 92 new patient beds. The previous beds in the old tower are set to be used for storage, officials said. 

MATT aims to better utilize the old resources and make them available for struggling local teens. 

Although a Behavioral Health Unit already exists at Henry Mayo, Dorio mentions that it lacks a focus on drug addiction and only provides resources for those ages 18 and older, providing “no help at all for teens.”

“We want to avoid seeing Santa Clarita teens or adolescents leaving our Valley for (mental health) care, or turn to drugs, alcohol, or even an overdose,” Dorio said.

The inception of the proposal began four years ago when Dorio was invited to join the suicide prevention comittee at College of the Canyons by Proffesor Larry Schallert.

He heard many stories about how mental health issues were having a major effect on teens in Santa Clarita, whether it was with themselves, their friends, or their families. This led him to testify at the Los Angeles Committee for Mental Health. 

MATT is looking for people willing to speak at City Council meetings to bring awareness to the issue at hand and convince the City Council to provide pediatric care in Santa Clarita.

“Countless teens could have their lives changed if adolescent mental health care and resources are provided to this community,” Dorio said.

This item is set to be on the City Council agenda for their meeting on April 20, 2021.

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