Two free apps have been launched in California to support the mental health of families with children aged 0 to 25.
This app offers personalized support for California families. Parents and Kids ages 0–12 get free, expert coaching for sleep issues, worry, social skills, and more.
Everything BrightLife Kids offers is fully paid for by the State of California. If you have a California zip code and a child ages 0–12, you’re qualified.
Infants/toddlers Age 0-4
Coaching for new(ish) parents/caregivers
Learn about developmental milestones, manage separation anxiety, build patience, get kids to try new things, discover strategies for better sleep, and so much more.
Kids Aged 5-8
Coaching for kids and their parents/caregivers
Work on how to express big feelings like sadness, worry, and anger in healthy ways, encourage age-appropriate learning, balance alone time with social time, and so much more.
Tweens Aged 9-12
Coaching for preteens and their parents/caregivers
Learn to set boundaries on social media, manage peer pressure, nurture your tween’s growing sense of independence, build self-esteem, confidence, and inclusivity, and so much more.
Personalized, 1:1 video sessions with diverse coaches
Many are bilingual in English/Spanish and have experience working with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities
Secure chat with your coach and on-demand resources
To get help with day-to-day challenges and questions that come up between sessions
Expert guidance
To help you understand your child’s needs and navigate community resources for therapy, psychiatry, or medication management
Peace of mind
Knowing your concerns are heard, your child has support, and your family’s information is always kept private and secure
This app offers free, confidential mental health support for 13- to 25-year-olds in California including 1:1 coaching and interactive tools. They want to create a space to de-stress, bounce back, and reset.
The app is completely free and confidential for California teens and young adults.
Connect with a trained Soluna coach whenever you need someone in your corner. Whether you’re looking to talk right now or want to schedule ahead, their coaches are there for you. Get judgment-free support on your terms — absolutely free, no insurance needed.
No cost
Thanks to the California Department of Health Care Services, Soluna is free to users.
No pressure
No subscription necessary. Just confidential support when you need it.
No worries
The Soluna experience is confidential, and your data is private and secure.
On a chilly San Francisco summer evening, families slowly trickle into Safe & Sound’s Waller Street location, most coming directly from school or work. They are arriving to collect a freshly cooked dinner to take home for their family so that they can enjoy an evening free from the stresses of meal preparation.
Safe & Sound’s weekly community dinner started as an in-person event, but after transitioning to a take-away model during the height of COVID-19 restrictions, families shared how much they appreciated the ease and comfort of a ready meal they could enjoy together at home, and so a new tradition was born. It’s a simple but powerful illustration of how responsive programming, guided by community voice, can evolve into lasting change.
Each week, volunteers come forward, individually or in groups, to shop for ingredients and make nutritious meals either in their kitchen or ours. Up to 150 members of partner families involved with Safe & Sound’s supportive programming visit our Waller and Bayview offices each Monday for pre-packaged meals intended to be taken home and enjoyed together. In 2024, Safe & Sound served over 3,700 meals, the majority of which were through this program.
The family dinner is just one example of the concrete supports offered to Safe & Sound families which also include diapers, clothes, bus tokens, and other items intended to support parents raising children in and around San Francisco. This program reflects Safe & Sound’s focus on strengthening the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s five Protective Factors in the families it works with which, in addition to concrete support in times of need, also include: parental resilience, social connections, knowledge of parenting and child development, and social and emotional competence of children. These factors have been shown to make positive outcomes more likely for young children and their families, and to reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. You can read more about the five Protective Factors in this recent blog.
The Community Dinner program could always benefit from more volunteers, if you are interested to find out more about how you can contribute contact our Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager at chris.miller@safeandsound.org or (415) 213-7416, or visit our volunteering page.
There are so many different opportunities for you to join us this summer. We’ve been working hard to create different workshops to suit your needs, from shared playtime promoting bonding, social-emotional skills, and parenting education through play-based activities, to exploring inspiration and expression through the use of art, to practical parenting tips and supporting children to discuss their feelings.
For classes requiring registration, visit the dedicated website page for workshops. You can also sign up to our email newsletter to get advance notice of new workshops.
And remember, outside of our workshops and classes you can drop in to our Waller Street Building during PDI Summer hours:
Monday: 10:00am-2:00pm
Tuesday: 3:00pm-6:50pm
Wednesday: 2:00pm- 4:50pm
Thursday: 10:00am-2:00pm
The 5 Protective Factors are areas of family functioning that help support youth and families to be strong. Research shows that when these factors are present in populations of families, it reduces the risk of abuse, maltreatment, and negative outcomes.
Each Protective Factor has its own super power! In this blog series we will introduce them all, and explain how they can support your family to thrive.
Pixie Stardust represents Social and Emotional Competence of Children as Pixie Stardust is here to help your child learn to express thoughts, manage feelings and keep friendships. This involves building positive social skills to teach children how to self regulate through emotions and behaviors. Teaching children to talk about their feelings is powerful.
Teaching children through Social and Emotional Competence can help children:
This can all be achieved with the right support and guidance, when parents and caregivers promote a strong connection and allow for children to feel safe to express their emotions. It allows children to cultivate healthy friendships, communicate and care. They will grow into emotionally intelligent rockstars!
Pixie Stardust helps kids understand that sharing a feeling is just as strong as rocking out on stage.
☀️Start with ‘How are you feeling today?’ and listen without fixing — connection begins with being heard.
🎙️When you say, ‘I feel sad,’ you open the door to support.
🎸 “When you say, ‘I feel proud,’ you celebrate your power.
🌟 Talking things out makes space for magic to happen.
When parents are supported in building connections with children, it creates an even bigger community of support, allowing you and your children to thrive! This is where you can join Safe and Sound to engage in family activities that allows you and your children to connect! Finding support can be the bridge to the other protective factors and ultimately to finding the right balance for yourself and your family.
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If you want to know more about how to incorporate each power feel free to call Safe & Sound’s TALK Line or come into Parent Drop In to chat and bring your kiddos to the playroom!
TALK Line: (415) 441-5437
Parenting is hard and you don’t have to do it alone
Parent Drop In:
Monday – Thursday at 1757 Waller Street
Read more about it here
Read about the other superpower characters in this blog on the 5 Protective Factors
Check out our For Parents section of the website for more resources.
Friday, October 17th
6:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Palace Hotel
2 New Montgomery Street
San Francisco
Cocktail Reception, Seated Dinner, and Dancing!
Join us as we celebrate our achievements and impact with our community of supporters!
Please join us to celebrate and fundraise for the families we serve at Safe & Sound! For more than 51 years, we have been at the forefront of providing programs that keep children safe and families strong. Support our mission at our 28th Annual Blue Ribbon Celebration and help us build brighter futures for our families and community!
Starting as the San Francisco Child Abuse Center in 1973, and now a statewide leader on prevention and family wellness, we are proud of the work we have done for and with children and families. Let’s shape the next 50 years of safe children and strong families…together!
The Blue Ribbon name and symbol are used to show support of child abuse prevention. When the Blue Ribbon Celebration started 28 years ago, Safe & Sound chose the name as a way to honor the vision of a future free from child abuse and neglect.
If you are interested in joining the event host committee, please email Erin.Reeser@safeandsound.org.
We are grateful to our generous sponsors for everything they do to ensure a safe & sound future for children and families!
The Polk Wealth Management Group
at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management
Topher & Sloane Conway
Adobe Employee Giving Program
The Honorable Farah Makras & Victor Makras
Jillian Manus & Rob Chesnut
Tracy Chen & Tom Schoenherr
Casey Family Programs
Rachel J. Castillo
Melinda Ellis Evers & William Evers
Golden State Warriors
Kaiser Permanente
Lowhurst Family Foundation
Hilary & Jamie Mendola
Liz Moress & Carolyn Otis Catanzaro
Eric Murphy & Timothy Wu
Polsinelli
TEF Design
UCSF
Safe & Sound is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. A Blue Ribbon Celebration Ticket is valued at $195.
Federal Tax ID number: 94-2455072
Read our Donor Privacy Policy.
At Safe & Sound, we believe every family deserves safety, support, and the opportunity to build a brighter future. Families facing crisis—whether from domestic violence, financial hardship, or other challenges—turn to us for essential resources and compassionate care. With your help, we can continue to provide life-changing support to parents and children in need.
A poignant example of how Safe & Sound can intervene is Clara’s family. Clara, a single mother of twin daughters with epilepsy, faced unimaginable struggles when she left an abusive relationship. Her daughters were six months old, and due to their health issues, Clara couldn’t work. She was overwhelmed and unsure of where to turn for help. Luckily, she found Safe & Sound.
Safe & Sound welcomed her with open arms, immediately inviting her to join one of our parenting groups. This was the beginning of her journey with us. Through the group, Clara became more engaged with the organization and took part in a variety of activities that provided not only emotional support but also essential resources. Our programs helped her navigate the complexities of her new life, offering everything from food, diapers and hygiene supplies to access to crucial financial support for housing. She found a safe space in our Playroom, where her daughters could laugh and play while she focused on stabilizing her home and becoming a better parent. Our care coordinators connected her with legal support, parenting groups, and even a yoga instructor certification program, helping her regain confidence and build a better future.
Today, thanks to your generosity, Clara has secured full custody of her children and is stepping into a future filled with confidence and determination. With the strength she always had but that Safe & Sound helped unearth, she is ready to build a bright, stable life for her daughters—one where they can thrive, and she can provide for them independently, knowing she has the resilience and skills to navigate any challenge ahead.
“Safe & Sound has given us more than support—they have given us a family, a place of healing, and a future filled with possibility. Their kindness and dedication have changed our lives forever.” – Clara
Your gift can help us reach even more families, offering them the support and stability they deserve. Donate today and be a lifeline for families in need. Together, we can build a safer, stronger community for every child.
*Name has been changed for confidentiality reasons
Following the successful conclusion of our three-year federally funded TASIE project, the Center for Youth Wellness (CYW) team within Safe & Sound is working on a new one-year initiative in partnership with the University of California ACEs Aware Family Resilience Network (UCAAN). This multi-campus initiative—anchored at UCLA and UCSF—aims to strengthen the implementation of CalAIM services in pediatric settings when a child screens positive for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
Through this project, Safe & Sound will provide technical assistance and training to 16 healthcare practices across California—including Alameda Family Services, Bay Area Community Health, and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. Many of these practices already conduct ACEs screenings but underutilize the full range of CalAIM services available, such as Enhanced Care Management (ECM), Dyadic Services, Community Supports, and Community Health Worker services. Our goal is to bridge this gap, helping practices build integrated care models that directly connect ACEs screening with appropriate CalAIM supports. This will include:
This project runs until March 2026 and continues CYW’s leadership in advancing trauma-informed systems of care while leveraging Medi-Cal reforms to support whole-family wellness.
Youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems are at extraordinary risk of exploitation, particularly commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), especially when they become disconnected from these systems. This disconnection often occurs after young people experience systemic trauma, are repeatedly moved between unstable placements, or go missing from placement (MFP). Without trusted adults or consistent support, these youth are left exposed to harm and isolation, with exploiters often stepping in to fill that void. There is evidence that traffickers specifically target youth with such backgrounds [1]; and research indicates that once on the streets, these young people can be approached within as few as 48 hours by traffickers [2].
In response to this urgent need, a coalition of Bay Area service providers organized a Street Outreach Convening (SOC) in October 2023 to identify concrete, local strategies to better support these youth—especially those who are homeless, MFP, and/or experiencing sexual exploitation. The Convening brought together youth with lived experience, street outreach teams, public agencies, community-based organizations (CBOs), and legal advocates to chart a path forward.
These recommendations are grounded in the lived experiences of young people and the frontline providers who support them.
These recommendations reflect a deep understanding of the challenges disconnected youth face and the opportunities available to build a more responsive, youth-centered ecosystem of care.
There has been some progress implementing the recommendations made at the Convening, but there are also several ways these recommendations could be moved forward.
Our report gives further context and explanation of the recommendations, the activity that has taken place since the Convening, and the suggested ways the recommendations could be moved forward.
You can read the report online now.
To prepare this report, Safe & Sound worked with
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[1] Walker, K. California Child Welfare Council, Ending the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: A Call for Multi-System Collaboration in California, Child Welfare Council, referencing Francine T. Sherman & Lisa Goldblatt Grace, The System Response to the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, in Juvenile Justice: Advancing Research, Policy, and Practice 336 (Francine T. Sherman & Francine H. Jacobs eds., 2011).
The 5 Protective Factors are areas of family functioning that help support youth and families to be strong. Research shows that when these factors are present in populations of families, it reduces the risk of abuse, maltreatment, and negative outcomes.
Each Protective Factor has its own super power! In this blog series we will introduce them all, and explain how they can support your family to thrive.
Plantdad represents Parental Resilience. Parental resilience is managing stress and using your strengths to get through challenges and hard times. With the right care and support, our roots grow deeper and families grow stronger!
We know life is not perfect, and we support parents and caregivers in using their great qualities of: strength, problem solving, asking for help, love, and bouncing back when things do get rough. These qualities happen within the context of a strong, connected, resilient community. That’s called parental resilience because families are leaning into strengths when it feels stormy, yet the growth is neverending!
Life throws curveballs such as a job loss, education advocacy, housing problems – this is when Safe & Sound will help families get through crises with:
When parents are supported in building resilience, it’s more than surviving, it’s thriving! Finding support can be the bridge to the other protective factors and ultimately to finding the right balance for yourself and your family.
—
If you want to know more about how to incorporate each power feel free to call Safe & Sound’s TALK Line or come into Parent Drop In to chat and bring your kiddos to the playroom!
TALK Line: (415) 441-5437
Parenting is hard and you don’t have to do it alone
Parent Drop In:
Monday – Thursday at 1757 Waller Street
Read more about it here
Read about the other superpower characters in this blog on the 5 Protective Factors
Check out our For Parents section of the website for more resources.
At Safe & Sound, we have served children and families for over 50 years and we’ve heard their stories.
We truly believe that storytelling can help us to see how diverse our experiences are but also the things that make us the same. That’s why we wanted to amplify the stories of our community through a collaboration with The Moth, a nonprofit dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling, by hosting an exclusive storytelling workshop and event during Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.
The event took place in our Therapeutic Children’s Playroom where children come to play, learn and gain the skills and knowledge to be able to thrive. The stories our speakers shared brought to life some of the work of Safe & Sound – including demonstrating the value of the 5 Protective Factors – areas of family functioning that help support children and families to be strong. Our work at Safe & Sound is grounded in strengthening those Protective Factors within the families we work with to help them thrive. You can read more about these factors in our recent blog.
In the meantime, we hope you will be captivated, inspired and moved by hearing these stories, and see for yourself the importance of Safe & Sound’s purpose to strengthen families and communities so that every child can thrive.
We plan to run this program again in 2026 so stay tuned for updates by signing up to our mailing list and following our social media channels.