On June 28, 2023, the Sozosei Foundation hosted a virtual convening discussing the role of the built environment in decriminalizing mental illness. The event featured S. Rebecca Neusteter, PhD of the University of Chicago Health Lab, Katya Smyth of the Full Frame Initiative, and Clyde Valentin of the One Nation/One Project in conversation with Melissa M. Beck, Esq., Executive Director of the Sozosei Foundation.
The 3rd Annual Sozosei Summit to Decriminalize Mental Illness was held from December 5 – 7, 2022, in Philadelphia, PA at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). The event drew more than 700 attendees from around the globe including thought leaders, people with lived experience, medical professionals, lawyers, judges, advocates, artists, and funders — all working to build a world where mental illness is not a crime.
In mid-summer 2022, the Sozosei Foundation – a philanthropic arm of Otsuka - convened a group of artists and leaders from the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors to consider the role of the arts at the Sozosei Foundation. The Arts Convening was diverse by design.