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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 11, 2013 04:52 PM |
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| From: | Representative Ronald G. Waters |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Resolution: Youth Violence as a Public Health Epidemic |
| Summary: Declaring youth violence as a public health epidemic and supporting the establishment of Statewide trauma-informed education. In the near future, I plan to introduce a resolution mandating youth violence as a public health epidemic. The resolution will also establish universal statewide trauma-informed education. Youth violence plagues the Commonwealth as youth are committing acts of violence against one another and throughout their communities. As high school dropout rates and school violence increase, action should be taken to remedy these mounding issues. Youth violence detrimentally impacts youth and the communities in which they reside. Due to the exposure of violence youth must experience, the often suffer from either primary or secondary trauma. Primary trauma is trauma associated with the violent death of a loved one. Secondary trauma results from exposure to violence present within their community. In addition, exposure to violence in families, communities, and homicidal death can lead to youth-specific post-traumatic stress disorder. Trauma cannot easily be detected in children requiring proper assessment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), violence affects communities by reducing productivity, decreasing property values, and disrupting social services. Due to the amount of violence youth are currently exposed to, measures should be taken to properly assess the issue. If you have in questions regarding this resolution, please contact Germaine Brown in my office at 717-772-9850 or via email at gbrown@pahouse.net. |
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| View Attachment | ||
Introduced as HR191