Be Well OC Set To Launch August In Laguna Beach: What To Know

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — A new blue van will be rolling through the streets of Laguna Beach, after the city partnered with Be Well Orange County to bring mobile mental health services to the community starting in August.

The two-year pilot program was approved by the City of Laguna Beach earlier this year and is designed to support community mental health and increase wellness in the city.

Laguna Beach will be the sixth city in Orange County to adopt a Be Well OC mobile response model, joining Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Garden Grove, Anaheim and Irvine.

According to a Be Well OC news release, funding for the program includes a combination of public and private funding. Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris found $1.5 million in state funding to support the program, and the City of Laguna Beach also received $405,111 in CARES Act funds from the county to cover the city's contribution.

The program is also supported by a $200,000 gift from the Ueberroth Family Foundation, which covers the capital investment of the mobile van and initial community outreach efforts.

"For too long mental health services have been ignored in communities throughout California. The Be Well OC program will fill that gap here in Laguna Beach and help us to provide services to residents and unhoused individuals. It will also allow us to better utilize our law enforcement and fire department personnel,” Laguna Beach Mayor Bob Whalen said in a news release. “We are grateful to Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris for securing state funding for this two-year pilot program and to the County of Orange to contributing additional funding. We look forward to welcoming Be Well OC’s well-known blue vans to Laguna Beach and to helping address mental health in our community.”

For more information on Be Well OC, visit the agency's website.