Executive Summary

The JuJu Foundation is a bold, youth-driven organization based in the Bay Area, founded by Michael Garcia-Picazo in honor of his late fiancée, Julia "Juju" Garcia, who passed away from an overdose on September 2, 2022. Julia’s lifelong struggle with mental health, trauma, and substance use, and her powerful spirit and love for community, are the heartbeat behind everything we do.

We’re not just another mental health organization. We’re a movement. We provide real support, not judgment, through harm reduction, trauma-informed mental health care, and culturally rooted substance use services. We're here for youth and young adults who feel unseen, unheard, or overwhelmed, especially BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and system-impacted communities who face the greatest barriers to care.

In a time when young people are experiencing crisis after crisis, The JuJu Foundation stands in the gap, radically human, unapologetically compassionate, and fully committed to building a future where no one has to fight their battles alone.

Mission Statement

To honor the life of Julia “Juju” Garcia by creating safe, healing-centered spaces for Bay Area youth and young adults to access mental health, harm reduction, and substance use support that is grounded in love, equity, and lived experience. 

Vision Statement

We envision a future where every young person, no matter their background, identity, or past, has access to care that meets them where they are, sees them fully, and supports their healing journey without shame. 

Purpose Statement

The Juju Foundation exists to turn pain into purpose by building a new system of care for adolescents, youth, and young adults in the Bay Area that centers compassion over control, connection over punishment, and community over isolation.

Who We Are

We are a collective of youth leaders, community organizers, clinicians, harm reductionists, and mental health advocates. Rooted in the legacy of Bay Area resistance and mutual aid, we represent the diverse realities of our community and lead with lived experience. We are here because we’ve been there. We believe in building a world where care is unconditional and healing is a right, not a privilege.

Who We Do

We provide youth and young adults across the Bay Area with:

1. Free, accessible mental health services: Culturally informed, trauma-focused therapy, peer counseling, healing circles, and crisis support that centers you and your story.

2. Harm reduction outreach & education: We distribute naloxone, clean supplies, and overdose prevention tools. We also teach how to use them with zero judgment. We meet you where you're at, not where others expect you to be.

3. Substance use services: We offer both peer- and clinician-led support for youth navigating drug use, recovery, relapse, and everything in between. We support people who want to quit, cut back, or just stay safe.

4. Street-based and pop-up services: We show up in schools, shelters, on sidewalks, and at community events, because healing doesn’t only happen in an office. It happens wherever you are.

5. Advocacy & empowerment: We fight for policies that protect youth and challenge the systems that criminalize trauma. We train youth to be leaders in their own healing and changemakers in their communities.

Core Values

1. Radical Compassion: No judgment. No shame. Just care, honesty, and presence.

2. Lived Experience: We believe those closest to the pain must be closest to the power. Youth voices lead the way.

3. Healing Justice: We address not just personal wounds, but the systemic ones, racism, poverty, homophobia, policing.

4. Accessibility: No insurance? No ID? No problem. We work to break every barrier to support.

5. Love in Action: This is bigger than services. This is a community rooted in deep love and accountability. 

Objectives

1. Expand access to culturally competent mental health and substance use services for marginalized Bay Area youth ages 12–26.

2. Reduce overdose deaths through widespread harm reduction education and distribution of life-saving supplies.

3. Build youth leadership pipelines by training peer counselors, organizers, and healers to lead the work in their own communities.

4. Partner with schools, shelters, and community orgs to integrate trauma-informed care into every space where youth show up.

5. Shift the narrative around addiction and mental health by centering stories of resilience, joy, and survival. 

Keys to Success

1. Authentic Youth Leadership: We don’t just serve youth; we are youth. Our programs are co-designed and led by young people with lived experience.

2. Deep Community Roots: We collaborate with Bay Area schools, nonprofits, grassroots groups, and mutual aid networks to stay grounded and relevant.

3. Culturally Rooted Care: We honor the racial, cultural, gender, and sexual identities of every youth we serve, providing care that reflects their realities.

4. Holistic Services: We recognize that healing isn’t linear, and it doesn’t happen in isolation. We offer wraparound, flexible, and ongoing support.

Sustainability through Solidarity: We build long-term relationships with funders, allies, and community members who believe in the power of youth-led transformation.