The Centers Announces a Gift to its Center for Treatment of Schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses.

Cleveland, OH, May 6, 2024 — The Centers, a leader in comprehensive, integrated behavior health services, is proud to announce a $175,000 gift from JoAnn & Bob Glick for its Specialized Treatment Advocacy and Recovery Services (STARS) and FIRST Programs.

Established in 2023, STARS provides comprehensive psychiatric care for any individual who needs assistance while facing emotional, cognitive, and/or behavioral concerns. The STARS Program is led by a complete clinical team comprised of a Psychiatrist, Registered Nurse, Therapist, Peer Support Specialist, Behavioral Health Specialist, Care Coordination Manager, and Care Coordinators. STARS includes a FIRST program, which is an evidence-based approach that coordinates specialty care for individuals ages 15-30 who are experiencing their first episode of psychosis.

“Through STARS, The Centers is helping people with psychosis to lead healthy, meaningful, and rewarding lives,” said Eric L. Morse, President and CEO. “This generous gift from JoAnn and Bob will help us continue to provide a comprehensive network of support to individuals throughout Greater Cleveland – especially youth and young adults – grappling with the onset of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.”

The Centers launched STARS because our mental and behavioral health teams identified a lack of services available to individuals with schizophrenia in the Greater Cleveland community.

Even for individuals with financial means, the level of integration of care required to manage the disease can be an insurmountable challenge. Yet, 95% of all Centers clients live below the Federal Poverty Line ‐ increasing barriers to care and intensifying existing health outcome disparities.

“There is a definite need for more behavioral health services in Cleveland. We are excited to partner with The Centers to meet that need for individuals experiencing schizophrenia through the STARS program,” said JoAnn and Bob Glick.

STARS is the only program in the state of Ohio that is specifically geared toward individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in an outpatient setting. The team’s sole purpose is to provide a network of evidenced‐based wraparound care that provides early intervention and comprehensive treatment and services that are designed to extend throughout a person’s lifetime. Further, through STARS, The Centers strives to reduce the incidence of individuals entering treatment for psychosis via toxic pathways (e.g., negative and/or violent interactions with law enforcement or involuntary commitment to hospitals) and to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis in individuals.

Schizophrenia is a mental health and brain disorder that is extremely disruptive to a person’s life, affecting about 20 million people worldwide. Every year, about 100,000 adolescents and young adults in the United States experience a first episode of psychosis. About 0.25% to 0.64% of the population in the United States is diagnosed with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders (https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/schizophrenia).

For more information about STARS/FIRST, visit www.thecentersohio.org or call 216-325- WELL. The Centers humbly invites the philanthropic community to partner in this endeavor.

About the Glick Family Fund: JoAnn and Bob Glick established the Glick Family Fund to make a meaningful impact in the lives and wellbeing of the underserved in Greater Cleveland with a focus on women and children. They support pilot and capacity-building programs that target at-risk populations and have a particular interest in healthcare and the social drivers of health. To learn more about The JoAnn and Robert Glick Family Fund, please contact the Cleveland Foundation Philanthropy team at 216-685-2006.