S&PAA’s inaugural Schizophrenia Policy and Research Institute NextGen (SPRING) Summit in Washington, D.C., was a unique and groundbreaking collaboration to create a roadmap for transforming the fragmented system of care for people with schizophrenia into a path toward recovery. Participants represented the diverse range of stakeholders in the schizophrenia journey: those diagnosed with the disease, care partners, judges, law enforcement, researchers, community leaders and policymakers. They pinpointed the biggest barriers to schizophrenia treatment and recovery and generated actionable strategies to address them. True to the S&PAA mission, the voices of those impacted by the disease were front and center in the discussions and will guide our collaborative efforts moving forward.
While planning begins for the SPRING 2025 Summit, we are launching initiatives that fuel our goal: Creating a roadmap that shatters the barriers to treatment, survival and recovery for people with schizophrenia.
“I’m just in awe of the collective energy, purpose and vision shared by the participants.”
“The best part...was just getting so many diverse stakeholders in one place and hearing their ideas.”
“It was important to meet other professionals and collaborate with them about improving access to treatment."
“We need to change the way we think about how we treat individuals.”
“People with schizophrenia think differently than everybody else and we may have more imaginative ideas than anyone else could have.”
We released results of a new S&PAA survey at the workshop, tied to a matching poll of U.S. suburban women, that suggest that U.S. political candidates who endorse concrete solutions to major mental health issues will attract support from those impacted by mental illness and the suburban-woman voting bloc. In an election year where races may be decided by razor-thin margins, the results send a message to candidates: support real solutions to the nation’s mental health challenges.
During the workshop, we announced the launch of the Schizophrenia Policy Action Network (SPAN), a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization that will work to advance policies and legislation that shatter barriers to care for people living with schizophrenia. As an affiliated organization of the Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance, SPAN will serve as a nationwide catalyst, bringing allied organizations together to power a movement for change and drive transformation at the federal, state and community levels.
90% of people in the United States believe we have a mental health crisis in our country – and they’re right. At our Roadmap for Change Advocacy Workshop (which followed the SPRING Summit), more than 75 advocates from our schizophrenia community gathered in Washington to discuss election-year issues that impact our community and how to advocate for policies that address those issues.
The Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance is solving foundational problems that create barriers to treatment, survival and recovery for people living with schizophrenia. An important way we do this is to empower our community to advocate for public policies that will help break down these barriers. Our advocacy efforts focus on laws and policies that address these realities:
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Hear the stories of hope, love and challenges shared by caregivers in our community as part of National Family Caregivers Month.
