National Shattering Silence Coalition

  • WHO WE ARE
    • ABOUT US
    • STRATEGIC ROADMAP
    • TEAM
    • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • STATE DIRECTORS >
      • MEET YOUR 31 DIRECTORS
      • AL: Holly Strayer
      • AK: Krista Schooley
      • AZ: Crystal Fox
      • CA: Jacqueline Janssen
      • CT: Melissa Valdivia
      • DE: Heidi Nasstrom Evans
      • FL: Joanne Schmitz
      • FL: Jack Wood
      • IN: David Doerner
      • GA: Daniel White
      • HI: Chad Koyangi
      • IL: Cindy Tank-Murphy
      • KY: Angeline Davis
      • MA: Lynda Cutrell
      • ME: John Nutting
      • MI: Carla Van Farowe
      • NH: Mara Briere
      • NJ: Chip Angell
      • NC: Beth Wallace
      • OH: Darrell Herrmann
      • OR: Breanna Smith
      • PA: Marcie Sohara
      • PA: Carter Hawley
      • RI: Ruth Scott
      • SC: Susan Lea
      • TX: Julie Plank
      • UT: Sherri Wittwer
      • VA: Mary Troy
      • WA: Leanna May Franklin
    • PARTNERS
    • NATIONAL SOLIDARITY WALL
    • SOCIAL IMPACT
    • CONTACT US
  • IMPACT INITIATIVES
    • CRISIS TO CARE
    • BEYOND STIGMA
    • MOBILIZING DIRECTORS
    • SMI PEER ALLIANCE
  • MEDIA & INSIGHTS
    • PRO & PEER TALKS
    • TREATMENT SAVES, NEGLECT COSTS: THE EVIDENCE >
      • SEE THE EVIDENCE
      • SHARE YOUR EVIDENCE
    • FRONTLINE PERSPECTIVES
    • NATIONAL POSITION PAPERS
    • EVENTS & OUTREACH >
      • SYMPOSIUMS
      • CONFERENCES
    • CAMPAIGNS >
      • BEYOND STIGMA CAMPAIGN
      • STILL HERE CAMPAIGN
      • THE SANDY PRUETT PROJECT
    • PODCASTS
    • BLOG
    • IN THE NEWS
    • PRESS ROOM
  • RESOURCES & ADVOCACY
    • UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOSIS GUIDE
    • SMI CAREGIVERS GUIDE
    • POLITICAL ADVOCACY GUIDE
    • HELPING IN CRISIS GUIDE
    • TREATMENT TERMS GUIDE
    • QUARTERLY RESOURCE GUIDE
    • EDUCATION & ADVOCACY TOOLS
  • SUPPORT GROUPS
    • THE ANCHOR
    • THE HIDDEN SENTENCE
    • SURVIVORS OF LOSS
    • SMI CAREGIVERS
    • SUCCESS CIRCLE
    • REPLANTING LIVES
  • JOIN
  • DONATE
  • WHO WE ARE
    • ABOUT US
    • STRATEGIC ROADMAP
    • TEAM
    • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • STATE DIRECTORS >
      • MEET YOUR 31 DIRECTORS
      • AL: Holly Strayer
      • AK: Krista Schooley
      • AZ: Crystal Fox
      • CA: Jacqueline Janssen
      • CT: Melissa Valdivia
      • DE: Heidi Nasstrom Evans
      • FL: Joanne Schmitz
      • FL: Jack Wood
      • IN: David Doerner
      • GA: Daniel White
      • HI: Chad Koyangi
      • IL: Cindy Tank-Murphy
      • KY: Angeline Davis
      • MA: Lynda Cutrell
      • ME: John Nutting
      • MI: Carla Van Farowe
      • NH: Mara Briere
      • NJ: Chip Angell
      • NC: Beth Wallace
      • OH: Darrell Herrmann
      • OR: Breanna Smith
      • PA: Marcie Sohara
      • PA: Carter Hawley
      • RI: Ruth Scott
      • SC: Susan Lea
      • TX: Julie Plank
      • UT: Sherri Wittwer
      • VA: Mary Troy
      • WA: Leanna May Franklin
    • PARTNERS
    • NATIONAL SOLIDARITY WALL
    • SOCIAL IMPACT
    • CONTACT US
  • IMPACT INITIATIVES
    • CRISIS TO CARE
    • BEYOND STIGMA
    • MOBILIZING DIRECTORS
    • SMI PEER ALLIANCE
  • MEDIA & INSIGHTS
    • PRO & PEER TALKS
    • TREATMENT SAVES, NEGLECT COSTS: THE EVIDENCE >
      • SEE THE EVIDENCE
      • SHARE YOUR EVIDENCE
    • FRONTLINE PERSPECTIVES
    • NATIONAL POSITION PAPERS
    • EVENTS & OUTREACH >
      • SYMPOSIUMS
      • CONFERENCES
    • CAMPAIGNS >
      • BEYOND STIGMA CAMPAIGN
      • STILL HERE CAMPAIGN
      • THE SANDY PRUETT PROJECT
    • PODCASTS
    • BLOG
    • IN THE NEWS
    • PRESS ROOM
  • RESOURCES & ADVOCACY
    • UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOSIS GUIDE
    • SMI CAREGIVERS GUIDE
    • POLITICAL ADVOCACY GUIDE
    • HELPING IN CRISIS GUIDE
    • TREATMENT TERMS GUIDE
    • QUARTERLY RESOURCE GUIDE
    • EDUCATION & ADVOCACY TOOLS
  • SUPPORT GROUPS
    • THE ANCHOR
    • THE HIDDEN SENTENCE
    • SURVIVORS OF LOSS
    • SMI CAREGIVERS
    • SUCCESS CIRCLE
    • REPLANTING LIVES
  • JOIN
  • DONATE

The Biological Mandate

Beyond Stigma:
The No-Fault Reality

Invest in the Standard →

The era of awareness is over.
the era of accountability has begun.

NSSC has scripted and developed Beyond Stigma, a high-impact documentary short film designed to provide our national coalition with the evidence required to end the cycle of medical neglect. We are currently seeking the foundational investment to move from Development into active Production.
Beyond the stigma of Serious Mental Illness lies a medical reality: No-Fault Brain Disease. For too long, a misunderstanding of anosognosia (lack of insight) has been used to justify a "right to be sick"—a standard of neglect that would never be tolerated for a failing heart or a broken lung. This narrative has fueled a system of abandonment that costs our nation $343 Billion annually.

We are capturing the "Ground Truth" required to replace this abandonment with a national Standard of Care. Your support puts this evidence on the desks of legislators and judicial leadership to secure the Right to be Well and mandate medical accountability before preventable tragedy.

THE SMI NEGLECT TAX

$343,000,000,000

Total Annual Economic Burden of Untreated SMI


Every single day that Medical Accountability is delayed, we spend $11 Million incarcerating the sick instead of treating them.

Source: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) | Standard Clinical Baseline

"Beyond Stigma is the evidence that the National Standard of Care saves money and lives. Neglect costs us both."

— ANN CORCORAN, Executive Director, NSSC

THE ANATOMY OF SYSTEMIC FAILURE: Featured contributors

Serious Mental Illness is a medical reality, but our current system treats it as a judicial problem. The following 'Shattered Silence' testimonies serve as the foundational narrative for our upcoming production—real-world data points scripted to expose the 'Jail-to-Grave' cycle.

Crystal Fox (AZ)

The Revolving Door: A psychiatric nurse’s account of the fatal cost of missing medical infrastructure and the criminalization of SMI.

Exposing the systemic collapse that turned a drive for help into a jail-cell tragedy.

The Stick Family (OK)

Treatment Saves: A father and son’s 12-year journey from the depths of psychosis to a path of healing and hope.

Proving that aggressive clinical discovery and specialized medication can restore a human life.

Jack Wood (FL)

Neglect Costs: Healthcare executive documents son’s long struggle in justice system—exposing the tragedy of warehousing those who lack medical insight to seek care on their own.

Exposing the immense cost of neglect that occurs when a biological brain crisis is treated as a criminal justice issue.

Ann Corcoran (NSSC)

The Biological Reality: The Executive Director synthesizes the evidence to define the path toward a National Mandate for Treatment and a new standard of care.

Challenging the "Right to be Sick" by explaining Anosognosia and securing the Right to be Well for those with no-fault brain diseases.

Invest in the standard OF CARE.
​Secure the right to be well.

For too long, our families have been told that our loved ones have a "right to be sick." We have watched as a biological brain disease was treated as a character flaw, and a lack of insight was used to justify a system of abandonment. We are done paying the Neglect Tax. It is far past time to be smarter with our resources and more courageous with our care.
​
Your investment activates the evidence. By supporting Beyond Stigma, you are green-lighting the "Ground Truth" required to end the cycle of medical neglect and establish a national Standard of Care. For every family that has fought this battle in the dark: this is our voice. This is our proof. This is our chance to ensure that the "Standard of Neglect" ends with us.

$50

The Voice

Shatters the Silence: Funds the final research and clinical data required to prove that our loved ones aren't "criminals"—they are patients with a biological brain disease.

Result: The Truth, Documented

$100

The Witness

Captures the Ground-Truth: Directly funds the filming of the "Shattered Silence" testimonies, ensuring the raw reality of the "Jail-to-Grave" cycle can no longer be ignored.

Result: Our Stories, Unfiltered

$250

The Bridge

Builds the Narrative: Funds the professional editing and storytelling required to turn our shared pain into a high-impact sword for national policy change.

Result: Pain Turned into Power

$500

The Catalyst

Forces the Conversation: Sponsors the strategic rollout of the film to the judges, legislators, and prosecutors who currently hold our families' lives in their hands.

Result: A Mandate for Change
fund the standard. donate today.

SCALE THE IMPACT: SECURE THE NATIONAL MANDATE

We are seeking Scale, Impact, and Production Partners to underwrite the national rollout of our visual evidence toolkit. By partnering with NSSC, you are funding the strategic infrastructure required to bypass the "Right to be Sick" narrative and secure the Right to be Well for every family in America.
CONTACT US FOR AN EXECUTIVE BRIEFING


​make a donation

DONATE


JOIN our coalition

JOIN


​follow us 


NSSC IS A 501(C)3 TAX-EXEMPT NONPROFIT [EIN# 41-3720272]

Disclaimer: NSSC is not liable for any information, service or product obtained from this site. No legal or medical advice is provided. Information on site is not a substitute for professional healthcare. Please consult your healthcare provider for medical advice. Support groups are confidential and for educational and supportive purposes only. All views expressed in media posts and perspectives are those of the contributing authors and not necessarily NSSC or its affiliates.

© 2017–2026, National Shattering Silence Coalition. All Rights Reserved.