House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search

House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted:	December 9, 2020 12:48 PM
From:	Representative Stephen Kinsey and Rep. Carol Hill-Evans
To:	All House members
Subject:	Recognizing the Harmful Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences

It is a simple fact of life that our childhood experiences, whether good or bad, shape our adulthood. This includes adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which are traumatic experiences that increase a person’s risk for negative outcomes in life, such as poor health. The risk for negative outcomes increases alongside the number of ACEs that a person experiences, to the point where an individual with six or more ACEs is likely to encounter death 20 years sooner than a person with no ACEs. It is estimated that over half of all adults in Pennsylvania have at least one ACE, which is enough to increase a person’s risk for a myriad of negative outcomes, including a suicide attempt and illicit drug use. Sadly, young Pennsylvanians between the ages of 18 and 29 are three times more likely than individuals over age 65 to have at least one ACE. We can no longer afford to ignore the damage that ACEs cause to individuals and our society. By raising awareness of the impacts of these experiences, we take advantage of an opportunity to protect future generations from the harms that ACEs contribute to. To that end, we will be introducing a resolution recognizing the harmful effects of ACEs on individuals in this Commonwealth. Please join us in supporting this resolution.

---