FEBRUARY 2023 - Here at the Foundation, we view the winter months as a time to reflect and recharge. With a focus on our core values of creativity and curiosity, we began the year asking ourselves: how might we measure the Foundation’s impact since the launch of our decriminalization of mental illness portfolio in the summer of 2020?
OCTOBER 2022 - I hope this issue of the Sozosei Foundation newsletter finds you well and feeling optimistic. Last week, we reached our in-person attendance capacity for the 3rd Annual Sozosei Summit to Decriminalize Mental Illness. We have opened a waitlist and, of course, one can join virtually. To register please visit www.SozoseiSummit.org.
AUGUST 2022 - The Sozosei Foundation is pleased to announce our final round of grants for 2022 to decriminalize mental illness. Each grantee partner is working to eliminate the inappropriate use of jails and prisons for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness by improving access to mental health care in communities across the nation. Their work addresses one or more of the Foundation's four strategic pillars: Access to Care; Art and Communications; Research; and Scaling What Works.
Correctional facilities in the US are considered the largest provider of mental health services.1 The Sozosei Foundation is tackling the question—"What can be done to accelerate solutions so that we eliminate the inappropriate use of jails and prisons for mental health care?” But tackling the criminalization of mental illness is complex and there is no single solution or ‘magic bullet’ to eliminate the use of jail or prison for the treatment of people with mental illness. Identifying effective solutions is difficult, in part, due to the limited availability of data needed to evaluate whether solutions work.
To understand the Sozosei Foundation’s approach to impact, a team from the RAND Corporation interviewed grantees, representatives from partner organizations and thought leaders; reviewed scientific and grey literature; and met bi-weekly with the Foundation’s Executive Director. This document summarizes what the RAND team learned about the Foundation’s approach to impact and an evaluation strategy that aligns with this approach.
The Sozosei Foundation launched its Resilient Communities Program (RCP) in the summer of 2020 at the request of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (OAPI), with the intent of evolving the company’s longstanding commitment to philanthropy. The goal of the program was to refine the company’s philanthropic commitment by designing guidelines and priorities to support diverse, under-resourced communities where the company has a presence. Over the two years of its grantmaking, the program provided over $1 million in grants and served over 177,000 people across six target communities.
When COVID-19 swept across the United States in the Spring of 2020, Sozosei had just formalized its governance structure and was in the midst of a national search for its inaugural executive director. Simultaneously, Sozosei – with leadership from its Board of Directors — moved swiftly to address the immediate needs of patients, healthcare workers, and families impacted by COVID-19.