{"id":703769,"date":"2026-05-30T13:04:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T13:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/703769\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T13:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T13:04:14","slug":"jennifer-siebel-newsom-hosts-sacramento-mental-health-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/703769\/","title":{"rendered":"Jennifer Siebel Newsom hosts Sacramento mental health event"},"content":{"rendered":"

California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom joined families in downtown Sacramento on Friday to celebrate the connection between physical activity and mental health during the fourth annual Move Your Body, Calm Your Mind Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the crowd at Street Soccer USA\u2019s field on Eighth Street, Siebel Newsom drew on her experiences as a Division I soccer player at Stanford<\/a> and a member of the U.S. Women\u2019s Junior National Soccer Team, saying sports helped build her confidence and resilience while underscoring the importance of physical activity for mental well-being.<\/p>\n

\u201cDance and sports gave me confidence, sports taught me resilience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The community celebration was organized by the Governor\u2019s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Wellbeing<\/a> to mark the end of Mental Health Awareness Month and support another statewide initiative called California Love, California Strong<\/a>, a set of monthly events \u201crooted in self-care, service and social connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kids and adults alike participated in a variety of activities, including soccer, dance, tai chi and boxing, as a DJ played songs including Daft Punk\u2019s \u201cLose Yourself to Dance\u201d and Erick Sermon\u2019s \u201cMusic\u201d through speakers set up on the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seemed like a fun way to spend the evening as a family,\u201d said Natalie Hernandez, who brought her children to the event.<\/p>\n

At the DJ\u2019s direction, participants gathered around tables to watch demonstrations, including a period of \u201csound healing,\u201d and a youth dance group that encouraged the crowd to stand and dance together.<\/p>\n

In addition to discussing her own sports experiences, Siebel Newsom spoke about her children.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a mom of four, I see those same lessons unfolding in my children\u2019s lives,\u201d she said. But, the First Partner said, she also sees \u201chow much our youth sports culture has changed,\u201d citing the increased cost of youth sports, the intensity of competition and pressure on children to perform well.<\/p>\n

\"First First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom dances during an event celebrating the Move Your Body, Calm Your Mind campaign at Street Soccer USA in Sacramento on Friday. The initiative encourages Californians of all ages to increase their physical activity and improve their mental well-being. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Other speakers included Renata Simril, president and CEO of the LA84 Foundation<\/a> and president of the Play Equity Fund; Jessica Wilson, CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness California; and Lisa Wrightsman, managing director of Street Soccer USA\u2019s Sacramento chapter<\/a>, who spoke about how playing soccer helped her through her struggle with addiction.<\/p>\n

After another brief period of physical activity, families again crowded around tables, this time to pick up brown paper boxes containing sandwiches, fruit, cookies and chips. Several guest panels featuring teen and youth athletes, psychologists, parents and sports coaches then concluded the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the message today when they\u2019re saying it\u2019s not extra,\u201d said Kristi Yamaguchi, the two-time world figure skating champion and a gold medalist at the 1992 Olympics in France who sits on the state advisory committee. \u201cIt\u2019s not a privilege. It\u2019s a necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"First First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, left, and Renata Simril, president and CEO of Vast Foundation, attend an event celebrating Move Your Body, Calm Your Mind campaign at Street Soccer USA in Sacramento on Friday. Both spoke during the event. The initiative encourages Californians of all ages to increase their physical activity and improve their mental well-being. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 8:03 PM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Velvet Wu<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Velvet Wu is a 2026 summer reporting intern for The Sacramento Bee.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom joined families in downtown Sacramento on Friday to celebrate the connection between…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":703770,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":["post-703769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=703769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=703769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=703769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=703769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}