County Sets Up Mental Health Support Centers for Youth

Several county governments in Kenya are strengthening mental health services by setting up dedicated support centres tailored for young people. In Machakos County, authorities have established a Youth Drop-In Centre within the Machakos Youth Centre, staffed with a doctor and a Level‑5 psychiatrist to provide free counseling, talk sessions, and psychosocial support to young people.
The Machakos centre offers a safe, youth-friendly space where adolescents can engage in coffee talk sessions and structured conversations about mental health, life challenges, and wellbeing. The facility is also designed to respond to gender-based violence (GBV), providing a shelter referral mechanism for youth who need protection and psychosocial care.
In Nakuru County, county leadership is prioritizing a new mental wellness support project focused on building community resilience. The initiative includes training supervisors, community leaders, and health promoters to recognize early signs of distress and to provide psychoeducational support in both community and workplace settings. There are also plans to scale mental health services at primary health facilities to make mental healthcare more accessible for youth across the county.
Meanwhile, Kisumu County is expanding its mental health awareness and support structure by training CHVs (community health volunteers) as mental health focal persons in every ward. To support crisis response, the county has set up an emergency psychosocial support call centre (EOC) that young people can call to seek help for anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges.
These county-led mental health centres for youth are part of a broader push to decentralize mental health care, reduce stigma, and ensure that more young Kenyans can access timely and supportive mental health services.