Meet Melissa Valdivia

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Melissa Valdivia serves as the Connecticut Director for the National Shattering Silence Coalition. As part of Connecticut’s growing grassroots movement to advocate for people with Severe Mental Illness and their families, Melissa works to educate her neighbors, policymakers, and community stakeholders about Serious Mental Illness. Through education and legislation she believes that appropriate medical treatment, a fundamental human right, can improve and save lives in Connecticut. 

Currently, Connecticut is one of only two states that does not have a law to provide continuum of care treatment, in the least restrictive environment -outside of hospitalization, for those suffering with SMI. As someone with lived experience in the SMI world, the urgent need for continuum of care treatment; often termed assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) in Connecticut, is the driving force behind Melissa’s advocacy efforts. 

Through her work, Melissa is dedicated to providing families with trusted resources, fostering meaningful statewide collaboration, and helping ensure that no family in Connecticut faces serious mental illness in isolation. 

Melissa is committed to lifelong learning and remains actively engaged with leading national organizations supporting individuals with SMI and their families, including the National Shattering Silence Coalition, Treatment Advocacy Center, CureSZ Foundation, DoroMind & Team Daniel, the Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance, Arizona Mad Moms, and the LEAP Institute. 
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Melissa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development and a Certification in Early Childhood Education. She worked for fifteen years educating young children on the autistic spectrum in California and New York. She taught preschool and kindergarten in Connecticut for more than a decade, followed by a career in academic operations.