Mission & Vision

Vision Statement

The vision of the Johns Hopkins ALACRITY Center for Health and Longevity in Mental Illness is health equity – that persons with serious mental illness, similar to persons without serious mental illness, live long, healthy lives.

Mission Statement

The mission of the ALACRITY Center for Health and Longevity in Mental Illness is to eliminate premature mortality among people with serious mental illness, who currently die 10-20 years earlier than the overall population. Early death in people with serious mental illness is driven by high rates of cardiovascular disease and other physical health conditions. The Center’s team of interdisciplinary researchers and community partners aim to achieve widespread implementation of effective interventions to address these physical health conditions in community mental health settings. Priority conditions include the risk factors and behaviors for cardiovascular disease, including obesity; hypertension; dyslipidemia; diabetes mellitus; physical inactivity; unhealthy diet; and tobacco smoking, as well as cancer, liver disease, chronic lung disease, and HIV/AIDS among people with serious mental illness. Achieving physical health is a key component of facilitating recovery and well-being among people with serious mental illness.

The ALACRITY Center’s mission will be realized through research, training, and community partnerships. 

Research: The ALACRITY Center’s research agenda is focused on developing, evaluating, and disseminating interventions to improve physical health in people with serious mental illness in community mental health settings.

Training: The ALACRITY Center is building a cadre of researchers, practitioners, peers and consumers with expertise in effective strategies to improve physical health and reduce premature mortality among people with serious mental illness.

Community Partnerships: The ALACRITY Center partners with local, state, and national stakeholders to refine, implement, and disseminate effective interventions to address the physical health conditions that are the leading causes of death among people with serious mental illness.