Last month in Washington, D.C., STARR was proud to serve as a founding partner in the launch of the S&PAA National Mental Illness Justice Center — a first-of-its-kind national hub designed to meet communities where the justice system and serious mental illness collide.

Alongside judges, clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and people with lived experience, STARR joined the Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance (S&PAA) and the Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC) for Navigating the Justice System for Our Community — a day of candid dialogue, intensive breakout sessions, and action planning that produced a real working framework. Every participant left as a Founding Advocate and member of the Justice Center Champion Collective.

For STARR, this work carries a specific imperative: ensuring that people living with serious mental illness who are incarcerated have access to quality care and treatment — including clinical research.