Convenings

The Promise of Litigation to Decriminalize Mental Illness 

August 1, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. ET 

Please join The Sozosei Foundation on August 1, 2024 from 12:00-1:15 p.m. ET for the next Sozosei Summit Solutions Lab, The Promise of Litigation to Decriminalize Mental Illness.  

Moderated by Robert Kolker, New York Times best-selling author of “Hidden Valley Road,” panelists include Sarah J. Gregory, Litigation Counsel, Disability Rights California; Kevin Martone, M.S.W., L.S.W., Executive Director, Technical Assistance Collaborative; Leslie Napper, Mental Health Consumer (Peer) and Senior Advocate for Disability Rights California; Megan Schuller, Legal Director, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; and Luke Sikinyi, Director of Public Policy and Public Engagement, The Alliance for Rights and Recovery. Sozosei Foundation Executive Director, Melissa Beck, will welcome the panel.  

The event is free to attend. To register, click here

Sozosei Summit Solution Labs continue conversations sparked at the Sozosei Summit to Decriminalize Mental Illness. Litigation was a topic of discussion in 2022. You can watch the keynote of Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, United States Department of Justice, here.

Past Convenings

Curiosity > Ideas > Action

 

The 2024 Summit centered on the fundamental and purposely provocative question: Do we truly believe that all people deserve access to mental health care? 

March 1, 2024, from 12:00 pm – 1:15 pm ET

 

The Foundation held a virtual convening on March 1, 2024 to explore what we know about 988, with the goal of addressing cutting-edge research and data about 988 in order to decriminalize mental illness and inform the continued efforts to build a robust and human-centered crisis care continuum across the nation.

June 28, 2023

The Foundation welcomed more than 250 participants to discuss the role of the built environment in decriminalizing mental illness. We were honored to host speakers S. Rebecca Neusteter, PhD, Executive Director of the University of Chicago Health Lab; Katya Fels Smyth, Founder and CEO of Full Frame Initiative; and Clyde Valentin, Co-Artistic Director of One Nation/One Project, in conversation with Melissa M. Beck, Esq., Executive Director of the Sozosei Foundation.