This year, S&PAA is expanding how we convene our community—advancing from gathering experiences and identifying problems to co-designing practical, real-world solutions.
The S&PAA Solutions Series is a new national event series focused on catalyzing social innovation, advancing next-generation models of care, and developing modern tools and policies that measurably improve daily life for people affected by schizophrenia and psychosis.
Over the past several years, our SPRING convenings surfaced the same challenges repeatedly: gaps in care, fragile crisis response, limited access to evidence-based treatment, social isolation, and policies that lag behind reality.
The Solutions Series is our response—it’s about what comes next.
Launching in 2026, this multi-city series brings together people with lived experience, families, clinicians, researchers, advocates, policymakers, and community partners to work side by side to address the most urgent system failures.
Each gathering focuses on one high-impact challenge. No matter your role, your perspective is part of the solution.
Insights from the series will inform future S&PAA toolkits, educational resources, policy recommendations, and systems-level initiatives.
FEBRUARY 2026
Congressional Briefing:
Total Societal Cost of Schizophrenia
APRIL 2026
APRIL 2026
Navigating the Justice System for our Community
OCTOBER 2026
Insight, Awareness & Anosognosia: Creating a Shared Framework
FALL 2026
Digital Tools to Reduce Isolation in Schizophrenia
February 10, 2026 | Washington, DC | COST: FREE
February 10, 2026 | Time: 12-1:30 PM Eastern
Location: CTA Innovation House
21 D St. SE, Washington, DC 20003
(Map)
Cost: FREE
Our community knows all too well the cost of schizophrenia. It’s time the world does too.
Hosted in partnership with the Schizophrenia Policy Action Network (SPAN), our sister organization, the Congressional Briefing is an official Capitol Hill briefing that will present findings from a new national analysis on the total societal cost of schizophrenia, highlighting the economic and human impact of the illness and emphasizing that the greatest costs are often the least visible, borne not only by healthcare systems, but by families, caregivers, state budgets, and public institutions across sectors.
Designed for policymakers, advocates, and stakeholders, this briefing will provide a comprehensive view of how delayed care, fragmented systems, and untreated illness shape real-world outcomes, and why policy solutions must reflect the full scope of these consequences. Join us to show the strength of our numbers!
April 22, 2026 | Washington, DC | COST: $90
April 22, 2026 | Time: 8:30AM – 6PM Eastern
Location: Top of the Hill Banquet & Conference Center
1 Constitution Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
(Map)
Cost: $90
Want to translate shared experience into federal action?
Hosted in partnership with the Schizophrenia Policy Action Network (SPAN), our sister organization, this event is designed as a coordinated Capitol Hill advocacy “fly-in,” connecting SPAN and S&PAA leadership, people with lived experience, caregivers, and community advocates with members of Congress. Participants will receive advance guidance on federal mental health policy, effective advocacy messaging, SPAN and S&PAA’s priorities, and current regulatory issues (using HIPAA as a case study) and then meet directly with policymakers, bringing authentic perspectives proven to influence decision-making.
Building on interest from last year’s Policy Summit, we will prioritize outreach to key congressional committees and work with attendees to map their congressional offices and secure meetings with their Senators and Representatives.
Together, this day strengthens relationships on Capitol Hill, elevates schizophrenia and psychosis in national policy conversations, and turns lived experience into lasting policy progress.
April 23, 2026 | Washington, DC | COST: $199
April 23, 2026 | Time: 8:30AM – 5:30PM Eastern
Location: Top of the Hill Banquet & Conference Center
1 Constitution Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
(Map)
Cost: $199
Individuals living with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders, and the families who stand beside them, often confront discrimination, prejudice, and stigma that impact their experience and outcomes in the legal system. When legal challenges arise, too many individuals and families struggle to find support from systems that are not designed to recognize serious mental illness or protect pathways to stability and recovery. And everyone suffers. Systemic disparities can deepen these harms and widen gaps in access to support.
This Solutions Session will help shape the early vision for a new National Schizophrenia Justice Center. It will focus on strengthening access to informed legal support and improving how communities respond when schizophrenia intersects with the legal system. Participants will identify where gaps in support occur, and bring together resources to better equip legal professionals, advocates, and families—all in one place.
This event is designed for anyone who wants to advance empowerment, advocacy, and justice for people living with schizophrenia and their families and help build stronger pathways for support.
October 16, 2026 | Location and time coming soon
October 16, 2026 | Time: 8:30AM – 1PM Eastern
Location: TBD
Cost: TBD
Challenges with self-awareness and insight into one’s illness can profoundly affect treatment and outcomes, yet they remain widely misunderstood and inconsistently addressed.
This Solutions Series session will focus on building a shared understanding of “the science of insight,” how it shows up in real life, and how the term “anosognosia” is used across clinical and community settings. S&PAA will share their preliminary research from the “Illness Awareness Study”, then guide a working discussion on what comes next, including which outcomes matter most, how they should be measured, and where people want to see improvements in support and treatment.
This session is designed for anyone who wants to learn more about S&PAA research and have clearer language, better tools, and more effective pathways to engagement when insight is limited or fluctuating.
Fall 2026 | Location and time coming soon
Fall 2026 | Details Forthcoming
S&PAA is excited to explore how digital tools, including game-based approaches, could support connection and recovery for people living with schizophrenia and psychosis. When the stakes are this high, innovation isn’t optional—it’s essential.
CTA Innovation House:
There are a variety of hotels near the CTA Innovation House (21 D St. SE
Washington, D.C. 20003). Use this link to find one that meets your needs.
The CTA Innovation House also is easily accessible via the Metro (subway), if you prefer to book a lower-rate hotel in Virginia or Maryland:
Top of the Hill Banquet & Conference Center:
There are a variety of hotels near the Top of the Hill Banquet & Conference Center (1 Constitution Ave NE Washington, D.C. 20002). Use this link to find one that meets your needs.
The Top of the Hill Banquet & Conference Center also is easily accessible via the Metro (subway), if you prefer to book a lower-rate hotel in Virginia or Maryland:
Nearby airports are:
CTA Innovation House:
The closest airport to the CTA Innovation House is Reagan National Airport. You can take a taxi, rideshare or Metro from both Reagan National and Dulles to the CTA Innovation House.
Top of the Hill Banquet & Conference Center:
The closest airport to the Top of the Hill is Reagan National Airport. You can take a taxi, rideshare or Metro from both Reagan National and Dulles to the CTA Innovation House.
For Corporate Sponsorships, we offer several options.
To learn more, please contact Anne DeGeorge at anne.pappas@sczaction.org
