California is expanding mental health support for young people affected by the Los Angeles wildfires through new funding announced by Governor Newsom under the LA Rises initiative.
The state's Department of Health Care Services partnered with the Child Mind Institute to create specialized resources within Mirror, a digital journaling app designed for teens and young adults. The partnership developed wildfire and disaster-specific journaling prompts to help young survivors process trauma, manage stress and anxiety, and track their emotional well-being.
The Mirror app uses guided journaling combined with mood tracking tools. This combination gives teens a structured way to express difficult emotions after experiencing disaster. Within the app, young people can complete prompts tailored to wildfire trauma, then monitor how their emotional state shifts over time. Early results show the approach resonates with affected youth. More than 4,500 entries have already been logged by teenagers and young adults using the disaster-relief prompts.
Digital mental health tools like Mirror fill a critical gap for disaster survivors. Traditional therapy waitlists often stretch for months, but apps provide immediate, accessible support. Journaling itself has solid research backing. Studies show that expressive writing reduces anxiety, improves mood regulation, and helps process traumatic events. When combined with mood tracking, the approach gives young people concrete data about their recovery progress, which builds hope and motivation.
This initiative recognizes that wildfires impact youth mental health in specific ways. Young survivors experience post-traumatic stress, displacement, loss of home and community, and grief. Standard mental health apps don't address these particular challenges. Customized prompts help teens feel understood and validated in their specific experience.
The LA Rises funding represents a broader shift toward digital-first mental health infrastructure for young people. It acknowledges that smartphones and apps are how many teens already seek information and support. By embedding mental health tools into apps teens already use, California removes barriers that prevent young people