The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion has received $4.375 million in funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) for an additional five years as a rehabilitation research and training center on independent living and community participation of individuals with serious mental illness.

This marks the fourth such grant for the Collaborative.  Housed in the College of Public Health, the Collaborative on Community Inclusion partners with individuals who have lived experience with serious mental illness (SMI), as well as with policymakers and care providers, to provide opportunities for people with SMI to be active members of their communities.

Collaborative members research a variety of subjects, from postwar mental health services in Bosnia and Herzegovina to peer support groups for young adults with early signs of psychosis and using public transportation to foster community participation.

In its 15 years, the Collaborative has created more than 130 tool kits, manuals and resources for researchers, policy makers, consumers, and health care providers on the subject of community inclusion and mental health. Researchers in the Collaborative have published nearly 450 peer-reviewed publications, and the Collaborative’s research has been cited more than 10,000 times.

“The Collaborative has raised awareness around the world of the importance of people with serious mental illness of not only living in the community, but also the importance of being full members of the community,” said Mark Salzer, professor of social and behavioral sciences and director of the Collaborative. “I am also incredibly proud of how active we have been in making sure our research, and related research from others, gets transmitted in ways that have impacted mental health policies, programs, and practices.”

 Over the next five years, the Collaborative plans to further its work enhancing transportation and mobility of people with serious mental illnesses, develop strategies for inclusion in rural areas, and work with college students with mental illness, said Salzer.