California governor signs executive order to support boys and men and improve their mental health

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday aimed at supporting men and boys and improving their mental health outcomes, in an effort to lower suicide rates among young men and help them feel less isolated.

The order directs the state Health and Human Services Agency to recommend ways to address suicide rates among young men and help them seek services to improve their mental health and well-being. It also requires the state to connect them with education and career opportunities.

“Too many young men and boys are suffering in silence — disconnected from community, opportunity, and even their own families,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement. “This action is about turning that around. It’s about showing every young man that he matters and there’s a path for him of purpose, dignity, work, and real connection.”

The issue has come increasingly into focus for Democrats since last year’s election, when the party lost young men to President Donald Trump, who framed much of his campaign as a pitch to men who felt scorned by the country’s economy, culture and political system. More than half men under 30 supported Trump, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters, while Democrat Joe Biden had won a similar share of that group four years earlier.

Newsom, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, has talked about the need to support men and boys on his podcast. The majority of his guests, which have included MAGA figures, Democratic politicians and book authors, have been men.

He released an episode Wednesday with Richard Reeves, the founder and president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, a group that researches issues affecting the well-being of men, to discuss what can be done to better meet their needs. Newsom said at the beginning of the episode that it’s an important issue to address beyond just discussing it as a political hurdle for Democrats.

“If you tune into the podcast, you may have noticed a theme — a theme that continues to emerge around men and boys,” Newsom said. “What is going on with our men and boys? Increasingly isolated, increasingly feeling disengaged, disconnected, depressed.”

Newsom’s order requires the state to try to get more men and boys to serve their communities through volunteer programs and support pathways to help more male students become teachers and school counselors. State agencies must also recommend ways to get more young men to participate in state career education and training programs, as well as an initiative to help improve student outcomes. Officials must provide an update within two months.

Men make up half the population but account for 80% of suicides in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. suicide mortality rate — defined as deaths per 100,000 people — for men and boys in 2023 was 22.7, about four times higher than that of women and girls, according to the CDC.

California had one of the lowest suicide rates in the country in 2023, per the CDC. The suicide mortality rate was about 10.2, compared with a rate of 14.1 in the U.S. overall.

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Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna