Right to Care (R2C) Peer Alliance

Human Dignity. Unbroken Care.

Championing the dual reality that individuals living with severe mental illness have both a Right to Care and a Right to Dignity—preserving life-saving psychiatric care while enforcing safety, trauma-informed oversight, and fundamental human respect.

Read "Two Paths, One Truth" → Explore 2027 Policy Blueprint

We recognize that the most profound insights into the severe mental illness (SMI) crisis do not come from textbooks—they come from the lived authority of peers and the ground-truth evidence of family advocates fighting for the exact same goal. As two sides of the same coin, we are bringing peers, families, clinicians, and policymakers to the same table to confront the catastrophic human and social costs of systemic neglect, ensuring that those living with neurobiological, no-fault brain diseases lead the charge for medical parity, dignity, and unbroken care continuity for our brothers and sisters.

from perspective to power

Our lived-experience coalition is fueled by the expert intelligence of those who have navigated the deepest fractures of the system and emerged on the other side with absolute clarity: treatment saves, while neglect costs. We are here to change hearts, minds, and laws. Through our Right to Care Peer Alliance, that hard-earned insight translates directly into public education, legislative action, policy shifts, and systemic reform.

Ground-Truth Leadership

Uniting lived-experience authority with policy architects to bridge the care continuum for severe mental illness.

Meet Alliance Leadership

Medical Accountability

Advocating for medical parity and timely treatment over criminalization and systemic abandonment through peer evidence.

See Peer Evidence

2027 Policy Blueprint

Establishing the Dignity & Care Continuity Standard, deploying peer evaluation rubrics, and awarding the R2C Quality & Dignity Seal of Excellence to accredited facilities.

View 2027 Policy Blueprint

THE EVIDENCE OF EXPERIENCE

NSSC is designing a national framework for medical accountability, and your voice is a critical piece of that structure. We gather the clinical insights of our families and peers to equip our legislative teams with the evidence needed to support immediate reform.

Submit an Insight

Provide a brief, high-impact quote (max 50 words) that captures the reality of brain disease or the life-saving impact of treatment to support our educational and awareness campaigns.

Submit an Insight →

Submit a "Perspective"

We are seeking longer-form papers (500–1,000 words) for formal publication and legislative briefings to help support a national standard of care for our SMI brothers and sisters.

Submit a Perspective →

"An involuntary plan for someone gravely disabled is not punishment. It is a lifeline. It restores stability, safety, and ultimately, autonomy. If I ever get that way again, please take away my rights. I don’t want to die."

Kerry Martin NSSC SVP of Strategy & Impact | Right to Care Alliance Co-Chair | Bipolar 1 Survivor

STAND WITH US: MEMBERSHIP & EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

Claim Your Seat at the Table

Not Yet an R2C Alliance Member?

Lived experience is the essential expertise required to establish a true National Standard of Care. By joining the Right to Care Peer Alliance, you lend your voice to a nonpartisan movement dedicated to ensuring individuals living with SMI receive timely, dignified, and continuous care.

Join the Coalition Today →

Build with Us

Open Executive Peer Leadership Roles

We are actively seeking experienced peer leaders with lived authority to join our national executive team in key strategic positions:

• Co-Chair & Strategic Lead: Partnering directly with Kerry Martin to drive national strategy.
• Head of Resource Development & Fundraising: Securing grants, donor partnerships, and peer funding.
• Head of Policy & Legislative Advocacy: Driving AOT initiatives and state policy toolkits.
• Head of Digital Marketing / Social Media: Amplifying ground-truth campaigns and movement growth.

Email Kerry Martin to Connect →