WHEREAS, Schizophrenia is a serious mental health condition and one of the top 15 leading causes of disability worldwide; and

WHEREAS, Schizophrenia is characterized by persistent psychotic symptoms such as auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, delusional thinking, dissociation from reality, and disorganized thoughts and behavior; and

WHEREAS, Schizophrenia symptoms typically emerge in adolescence or early adulthood and can be persistent and disabling when left untreated, interfering with a person’s ability to engage in typical school, work, and social activities; and

WHEREAS, Schizophrenia affects about 24,000,000 people in the world and about 330,000 people in California, the highest number of affected individuals of any state in the country; and

WHEREAS, The life expectancy of people living with schizophrenia is reduced by 10 to 20 years compared with the general population, often due to multiple chronic health conditions, as well as the fact that approximately 5 percent of people living with schizophrenia die by suicide, a rate that is far greater than that of the general population; and

WHEREAS, The standard of care for mental health condition treatment has been largely unchanged for over 60 years and many individuals continue to suffer from unmet needs as a result of a significant lack of treatment innovation for severe and disabling mental health conditions. The development of first-episode psychosis treatment protocols is one promising exception; and

WHEREAS, Because of the limited advancements in serious mental health condition treatments, people living with serious and disabling mental health conditions such as schizophrenia need access to new and vital medications, therapeutic treatments, and recovery support services that could enable individuals to live better, more fulfilled lives; and

WHEREAS, The Legislature believes in the importance of increasing awareness of mental health conditions that, absent early and effective intervention, are often severely debilitating, impacting the person, their families, and their loved ones; now, therefore, be it