The Sozosei Foundation, the Princeton, New Jersey-based philanthropic arm of Japanese pharmaceutical company Otsuka, has announced grants totaling $2.2 million in support of nonprofits working to decriminalize mental illness.

The grants were awarded to 36 organizations to bolster access to mental healthcare and to end the inappropriate use of the carceral system as treatment for mental illness. Recipients include Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, which works to decriminalize mental illness through access to mental healthcare, legal services, and the arts; Healthy Minds Policy Initiative, which supports progress towards increased access to mental health services in Oklahoma; MindSite News, which will expand its reporting on mental health in the United States; and Path Forward, which advocates for equitable access to mental health treatment.

“All but two of the grants in this cycle represent the continuation of funding to impactful organizations using tools including advocacy, litigation, arts, and communications to decriminalize mental illness,” said foundation executive director Melissa M. Beck. “The cycle also includes promising practices from rural and urban communities across the nation where innovation is catalyzing new pathways to ensure mental health treatment is available in communities—not just behind the walls of the carceral system in the U.S.”

For a complete list of spring 2024 recipients, see the Sozosei Foundation website.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/andreswd)