In response to youth demands for more youth-driven programs, the Office of Mental Health is announcing round 2 of funding for 4 Youth Safe Space Programs. These programs target young people ages 12-24.
The funding will create standalone Youth Safe Spaces Programs and allow other community spaces to expand service offerings as Youth Safe Spaces. Community spaces may include:
The intention is for there to be only one award per county. Applicants are not required to be licensed OMH providers to take part.
Update: 12/22/2025
Due to a technical difficulty, the Bidders Conference that was scheduled 12/19/2025 at 10:30am was unable to take place. The new date for the bidder’s conference is 1/5/2026 from 1:00pm – 2:00pm. Please use this link to access the bidder’s conference on the new date: Youth Safe Spaces (Round 2) Bidder's Conference
Please note that this means the timeline for the RFP has been revised to the following:
Key Events/Timeline
RFP Release Date 12/11/2025
Bidders Conference 1/5/2026
Questions Due 1/20/2026
Questions and Answers Posted on Website 2/10/2026
Proposals Due by 2:00 PM EST* 3/3/2026
Anticipated Award Notification 4/2/2026
Anticipated Contract Start Date 7/1/2026