SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Community Bridges has hired Erin Carlson-Jones, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with more than 20 years of experience in addiction treatment, mental health, crisis intervention, and community-based care, as its new Clinical Director, with a primary focus on expanding and overseeing the behavioral health and counseling services offered through the Community Bridges Family Resource Collective (FRC).
The FRC serves more than 10,000 children and families each year across Santa Cruz County, North Monterey County, and San Benito County, providing essential supports that include food access, parenting classes, enhanced care management, advocacy, and mental health services. Under Carlson-Jones’ leadership, Community Bridges will deepen and scale our counseling and behavioral health service to ensure that cost, insurance status, language, or cultural background never prevent someone from receiving the mental health care they need.
“Erin brings the exact combination of clinical depth, systems experience, and community values we need at this moment to provide both clinical experience with on the ground tactical support we need to help families thrive,” said Raymon Cancino, Chief Executive Officer at Community Bridges. “As the demand for mental health services rises, her leadership will help us strengthen and expand service so families can get high-quality, trauma-informed care in the same welcoming spaces where they already come for support.”
The FRC’s counseling services provide mental health services for children, teens, adults, and families who often face barriers in accessing or affording traditional care. The service operates across four Family Resource Centers in Watsonville, Santa Cruz, Live Oak, and Felton. It launched in 2018 in direct response to a community survey, in which families emphasized the importance of receiving care from clinicians who speak their language, understand their culture, and reflect their lived experiences. That community-guided direction continues to define the services mission today: to ensure that no one is turned away due to cost and that people can receive support from clinicians who understand them.
As Clinical Director, Carlson-Jones will support and strengthen behavioral health services across all FRC locations by expanding counseling for children, youth, adults, and families; providing strong supervision and training for clinical staff; improving connections for people with more urgent needs; and helping develop the next generation of clinicians.
“My vision is to continue and expand the strong foundation this service has already built,” Carlson-Jones said. “When behavioral health services are accessible, culturally responsive, and grounded in trust, families are more likely to reach out before they’re in crisis. I’m committed to advancing a model where every child, parent, and caregiver can receive the care they deserve—right in their own community.”
The need for accessible mental health services continues to grow. The lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have overwhelmed traditional providers, leaving many families without timely support, and mounting federal, state, and local budget cuts are expected to further strain systems that children and families rely on. As funding for essential programs tightens in the coming months, more families are anticipated to face heightened stress, instability, and mental health challenges, increasing demand for community-based services like those offered through the FRC.
The FRC’s counseling service helps bridge this gap by offering support for general mental health concerns, connecting individuals to more intensive services when necessary, and working to reduce wait times even when immediate appointments are not available.
Carlson-Jones brings a strong record of leadership across organizations including Janus of Santa Cruz, Telecare’s Crisis Stabilization Program, Pathway Society, Adolescent Counseling Services, and Rebekah Children’s Services. As the founder of ECJ Therapy & Consulting, she has also provided clinical supervision, trauma-informed training, program development, and recovery-oriented support.
Her career reflects a deep commitment to equity, healing, teaching and strengthening families—positioning her to lead this expansion at a moment of heightened community need.
“Erin’s depth of experience across crisis response, long-term treatment, and community-based care programs that look to build a pipeline of new clinicians makes her uniquely equipped for this moment,” said Mayra Melendrez, Program Director of the FRC. “She understands the pressures families are facing and knows how to build systems that respond with compassion, cultural humility, and clinical excellence. We couldn’t ask for a stronger leader to guide the growth of our behavioral health services when our community needs them most.”
The counseling services operate across all four FRC sites—in Watsonville, Santa Cruz, Live Oak, and Felton—providing accessible, culturally responsive services to children, teens, adults, and families.
Anyone seeking support can apply or learn more by visiting communitybridges.org/frc or by calling 831-476-7284 ext. 104. The FRC remains committed to ensuring that every community member has a trusted place to turn for mental health care, connection, and support.
About Community Bridges
Community Bridges envisions a thriving community where every person has the opportunity to unleash their full potential. Together, our family of programs delivers essential services, provides equitable access to resources, and advocates for health and dignity across every stage of life. To learn more, please visit www.communitybridges.org.
About the Family Resource Collective
Community Bridges Family Resource Collective has four locations to meet the needs of Santa Cruz County residents. Our centers in Santa Cruz, Felton, Live Oak and Watsonville create a safety net of services to meet individual and household needs. Our compassionate staff build a warm, friendly, safe place for the community to access resources that offer stability and hope for the future. To lean more, please visit www.communitybridges.org/frc.
