Welcome to Change SF – Empowering Youth for Health Equity
Change SF is your gateway to exploring the dynamic intersection of public service, community, and mental health, all dedicated to advancing health equity in the vibrant city of San Francisco.
Proudly part of Mayor London Breed's Opportunities For All (OFA) initiative, in collaboration with the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Zuckerberg SF General Hospital, CHANGE SF offers a transformative year-long internship experience.
Change SF is an opportunity for youth participants to examine the intersectionality of public service, community, and mental health to improve health equity efforts in San Francisco, fostering youth leadership and embracing the unique perspectives of San Francisco's young residents.
The program was announced in 2021 as a chance for the City to provide work-based learning opportunities for youth and young adults in the fields of mental and behavioral health and psychiatry. This program has been a beacon of opportunity, providing enriching work-based learning experiences for the city's youth and young adults interested in the fields of mental and behavioral health and psychiatry.
Through this program, youth explore a wide array of disciplines, including psychiatry, cognitive and learning disorders, social work, trauma recovery, substance use, and psychology.
Change SF is centered around creating opportunities for youth leadership and learning from the unique perspectives of young people living or attending school in San Francisco.
Of Change SF's initial cohort of four interns, three were hired by UCSF and the fourth is in high school. The current cohort of 10 interns has been engaging since January 2023, and will continue through May 2024.
Change SF is committed to continuing the robust innovation around medical exploration, workforce development, and economic mobility for San Francisco youth.
Mayor Breed’s Opportunities for All initiative, launched in the summer of 2019, provides youth and young adults ages 13 to 24, particularly from low-income families or communities that have long faced barriers to economic inclusion, with paid, work-based learning opportunities. The goal of the initiative is to not only connect young people with jobs, but more broadly to provide jobs in high-opportunity industries including healthcare, tech, finance, and more, as well as to get them started on the pathway to long-term success with lifelong mentorships. Since its inception, more than 4,500 youth have participated in Opportunities for All.
CHANGE SF at a Glance
● Project-Based Curriculum: Dive into impactful projects that shape the future of mental health healthcare.
● Clinical Mentorships: Learn from experienced mentors in the field of mental health.
● Career Training and Exposure: Gain practical skills and explore diverse career
opportunities.
● Stipend Payments: As a valued member of our youth community health interns, you'll receive stipend payments.