With 80 percent of children who need mental health services going untreated, our youth are facing a mental health crisis of catastrophic proportions.

Currently, 10 million American children -- one in five -- suffer from diagnosable and treatable mental illnesses, more than AIDS, leukemia and diabetes combined. Most of these children get no treatment or inadequate treatment, putting them at risk for school failure and dropping out, alcohol and drug use, teenage pregnancy and criminal activity; 90 percent of children who commit suicide have mental disorders; and the cost of untreated mental illness in the U.S. is more than $100 billion each year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Althea has a deep commitment to improving mental health and eradicating its stigma. In 2005 we were able to jump-start the creation of a comprehensive program dedicated to improving the emotional well-being of Bay Area youth, regardless of socioeconomic status.

By creating a model that emphasizes comprehensive care, eliminates barriers to access and trains caregivers in the latest practices, the University of California San Francisco Medical Center Adolescent & Young Adult Mental Health Center is paving the way for other communities to begin to address the needs of our most vulnerable citizens.