Healing Our Kids and Community

Healing Our Kids and Community: A Transformative Pioneering Initiative by Carson Tahoe Health

Overview

Nevada is currently experiencing a severe mental health crisis. In 2024, Mental Health America ranked Nevada as the worst state in the nation for supporting kids with mental and behavioral health issues, a title it’s held for much of the past decade. Carson Tahoe Health is on the forefront of addressing this urgent challenge.

What is Healing our Kids & Community?

Healing Our Kids & Community is our Strategic Initiative focused on improving behavioral health access and resources for children and our community. This initiative is designed to foster a sense of purpose and connection, while increasing access to mental and behavioral health services. By raising awareness, reducing stigma, and strengthening family support systems, we’re building a whole health approach to mental well-being.

The first component includes youth services being added at the CTH Specialty Medical Center, which are centered on providing clinical mental health treatment.  The second component is about creating meaningful structured opportunities for connection, play, creativity, and growth through the Carson Tahoe Vehicles of Change – a program designed to go out into the community, meet kids (ages 8-12) where they are and empower them with tools for developing resiliency, empathy and ability to problem solve.

What is happening with our Youth Behavioral Health Services at the Specialty Medical Center?

We are expanding access to care for youth by opening a Crisis Stabilization Center, next to the adult Mallory Crisis Center, which will have twelve beds. Additionally, we will have a dedicated pediatric inpatient unit with ten beds and expanded outpatient services in an adjacent building. This expansion, opening in July 2025, is part of our response to the growing mental health crisis among young people. The new inpatient unit will offer comprehensive care, alongside our existing mental health and substance use services for adults and aging adults.

What are the Carson Tahoe Vehicles of Change (CTVs)?

The Carson Tahoe Vehicles of Change are a key part of Healing Our Kids & Community, launching in June. This initiative will feature four themed vehicles—Food, Play, Sound, and Art—each representing a unique aspect of healing and support for children's mental health. Mock-ups of the vehicles are below. The CTV program offers an engaging and evolving series of themed, evidence-based sessions designed to foster creativity, teamwork, and self-expression through interactive activities like game creation, breathing exercises, art projects, and performance. Participants explore themes such as play, dreams, health, communication, and celebration, culminating in community-building events that showcase their growth and achievements.

The CTV pilot program begins at the Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada in Carson City, running through the summer of 2025. The official community launch for the vehicles is set for September 10, 2025, at Carson Tahoe Health Hospital.

What’s Ahead for Carson Tahoe Health and Behavioral Health Services?

Carson Tahoe’s Behavioral Health Services continues to provide compassionate, cost-effective care for seniors, adults, and adolescents through a multidisciplinary approach—right here in our community. Looking to the future, we’re launching a funding initiative to build a new Whole Health Therapeutic Center on our current campus. This state-of-the-art facility will expand our ability to deliver comprehensive, integrated mental health care for both children and adults.

Give the Gift of Mental Health

You can make a lasting impact by supporting this initiative. Donations can help sponsor a CTV, contribute to facility expansion, or fund mental health programming for our youth. Join us in healing our kids and community.

Donate Now

Press

The Healing Our Kids Press section provides official press releases, media coverage, and news updates related to the initiative. This archive serves as a resource for tracking the program’s progress and public engagement in advancing children's mental health.

• Nevada Appeal - CTH Hopes to Open Juvenile Health Facility in Year - June 22, 2024