June 2024: We love to talk about collaboration here at the Sozosei Foundation. It is one of our core values, and for good reason. It is the idea that the whole is greater than the mere sum of its parts. To build on last month’s discussion of curiosity, what about collaboration makes it so valuable? Why is it important? How can philanthropy best support collaboration beyond giving it lip service?
Princeton, NJ, June 20, 2024 — The Sozosei Foundation, a philanthropic arm of Otsuka, announced its Spring 2024 grantee partners. This round of grants will award $2,169,000 to 36 organizations to increase access to mental healthcare to end the inappropriate use of the carceral system as treatment for mental illness.
May 2024: What makes you curious? I’ll be honest — I’m curious about everything. Growing up in the pre-Internet age, too much curiosity could be a labor of love. It included going to the library, reading through old newspaper articles on microfiche, looking at encyclopedias and more. Now, curiosity can be fulfilled by clicking, or even better by dictating, into my new favorite search engine — Perplexity.
The Foundation recently kicked off a series of Global Solution Labs to surface more knowledge and perspectives about how to create a future where mental illness is not treated as a crime. Over 50 multidisciplinary “Solutionists” gathered on May 7, 2021, to take on the ambitious task of identifying the top solutions to move the needle on the decriminalization of mental illness.
In the spirit of collaboration, we recently hosted a Virtual Book Club featuring authors and renowned psychiatrist Dr. James Knoll and renowned psychologist Dr. Joel Dvoskin. Led by Sozosei Board Member, Mary Chi Michael, Dr. Knoll and Dr. Dvoskin discussed their contribution to the recently released book, “Decriminalizing Mental Illness” with more than 100 attendees.