Children and youth who are victims of child abuse benefit from psychotherapy but often don’t have access to behavioral health resources. Community Benefit partner Bill Wilson Center works to address this need through the Child Abuse Treatment Program (CHAT), which provides psychotherapy treatment services, information and help navigating the criminal justice system.
Psychotherapy can be essential — especially for victims of child abuse. However, many children and youth don’t have access to mental health services due to lack of resources or available programs. Community Benefit partner Bill Wilson Center hopes to fill the gap.
Bill Wilson Center strengthens the community by serving youth and families through counseling, housing, education and advocacy. They are one of the few agencies in Santa Clara County to provide a continuum of services, particularly to the often-overlooked young adult population (ages 16–25). Currently, they directly serve 4,900 clients each year through 30 programs.
The Community Benefit program focuses on Bill Wilson Center’s Child Abuse Treatment (CHAT) Program. With the support of grant funding, CHAT’s licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT) provide:
- Psychotherapy treatment services to youth either in person or through teleconferencing
- Information, crime victim compensation services and referrals to child victims and caretakers
- Help for children preparing to participate in the criminal justice system
LMFTs facilitate CHAT at the Bill Wilson Center and three schools in San Jose. These services directly address behavioral health access in our community, one of the top needs identified in El Camino Health’s fiscal year 2026 Implementation Strategy Report and Community Benefit Plan.
If you’d like to get more involved with Bill Wilson Center, consider participating in the 2025 Adopt a Family Holiday Giving Program. It’s a great way to give back during the holiday season.
See the complete list of fiscal year 2026 grant partners.
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