1. Expand Working the Gap: Partner with CUNY to serve 100 young people through the Working the Gap model, creating pathways into community mental health careers and providing additional training for young workers in youth-serving organizations.
2. Strengthen Youth Peer Advocate roles: Support higher compensation, benefits, credentialing, and professional development to improve recruitment and retention.
3. Recruit and retain school mental health professionals: Increase salaries and provide tuition subsidies for relevant degree programs at public colleges and universities.

1. Provide benefits navigation: Offer eligibility screening within Joy Centers and youth-serving organizations. Help eligible young people apply for Medicaid or connect with other appropriate coverage options.
2. Train youth-serving staff: Train staff, including workers ages 18–24, on Medicaid benefits and referral pathways. Connect programs with community health workers and enrollment specialists who can explain coverage, documentation, and renewal requirements.
3. Create paid pathways for Working the Gap alumni: Employ qualified graduates who have earned their Youth Peer Advocate credential and completed relevant training in outreach and peer-support roles, including community health worker roles where qualified.
4. Support continued coverage: Help young people meet renewal deadlines, submit documentation, and understand applicable exemptions. For participants subject to community engagement requirements, connect them with qualifying employment, education, training, or community service opportunities.

1. Pilot a community-based Joy Center: Partner with nonprofit organizations and DYCD to establish a space designed by and for young people. Offer opportunities for fun, play, relaxation, and connection, alongside a mental health resource hub updated monthly.
2. Bring the Joy Center approach into schools: Integrate the youth-led model into DOE Wellness Clubs, peer-based mental health literacy training, and mental health resource toolkits.
3. Develop mobile Joy Centers: Hold neighborhood pop-up events across boroughs, including programming for immigrant and refugee youth who face safety or access concerns. Adapt activities to community needs.