Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1956, legislation that formally adds boys and young men as a group of focus for the California Office of Suicide Prevention.
The bill, authored by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, builds on an executive order Newsom issued in July 2025 directing a coordinated statewide response to challenges facing boys and men, including mental health, social disconnection, education, employment, and access to mentorship. Under the Path & Purpose initiative, California has expanded access to free behavioral health support through Soluna and BrightLife Kids, strengthened school-linked mental health services and crisis response, and connected young men to mentorship, education, employment, and service through the Men's Service Challenge.
A March 2026 analysis by the California Department of Public Health found that boys and men in California face disproportionately high suicide risks. Men die by suicide at 3.6 times the rate of women and are far less likely to seek help. From 2019 to 2023, the suicide rate among California boys ages 10 to 19 was twice the rate among girls of the same age. Men are more than three times as likely to die from drug overdose, according to the analysis.
The data also showed male veterans account for 15 percent of suicide deaths in California despite being just 2.9 percent of the population. Nearly 1 in 4 young men report having no close friends.
Valencia, who chairs the Select Committee on Developing Pathways to Purpose for Young Men, said the legislation ensures the state meets young men "where they are, with outreach built for how young men actually live."
California has invested in youth behavioral health through the Master Plan for Kids' Mental Health, which the state said aims to provide greater access to mental health support through health programs, education, and social services.