Assembly Resolution No. 506
BY: M. of A. Simotas
MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
June 2019, as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Awareness Month in the State of New York
WHEREAS, June has been nationally recognized as Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month since 2014; and
WHEREAS, PTSD is a mental health disorder that can develop in
response to experiencing or witnessing a dangerous or life-threatening
event; and
WHEREAS, PTSD symptoms can be acute or long-term and include
hypervigilance, panic attacks, intrusive memories, flashbacks,
nightmares, insomnia, avoidance, numbing, dissociation, hopelessness,
and intense feelings of guilt and shame; and
WHEREAS, According to the National Center for PTSD, an estimated
eight million people experience PTSD in a given year and 7-8% of the
population will develop the condition at some point in their lives; and
WHEREAS, PTSD frequently affects members of the military along with
victims of child abuse, intimate partner violence, and physical or
sexual assault; and
WHEREAS, Rates of PTSD are more than twice as high for women, with
one out of every 10 American women expected to be diagnosed within her
lifetime; and
WHEREAS, 94% of female rape victims experience symptoms of PTSD in
the weeks following the assault, and the lifetime prevalence among
survivors of sexual violence is estimated at 50%; and
WHEREAS, Over 20% of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and
30% of those who served in Vietnam have suffered from PTSD, and symptoms
have been increasingly emerging in the nation's surviving World War II
veterans; and
WHEREAS, PTSD commonly develops in response to military sexual
trauma, an issue affecting over one in four female veterans; and
WHEREAS, LGBTQ youth and racial and ethnic minorities are at greater
risk of developing PTSD and face unique barriers to recovery due to
chronic social stress, discrimination, and lack of culturally competent
mental health resources; and
WHEREAS, The National Institute of Health reports that less than
half of all people with PTSD receive treatment over a 12-month period
and 42% of those undergoing treatment receive minimally adequate care;
and
WHEREAS, Without effective treatment, the physical, cognitive, and
emotional effects of PTSD can have debilitating impacts on every aspect
of an individual's life, leading to higher rates of depression,
substance abuse, homelessness, and suicide; and
WHEREAS, Increasing education and public awareness is crucial to
combatting stigma, expanding access to care, and ensuring all New
Yorkers struggling with PTSD can seek the help and support they need to
alleviate distressing symptoms, improve quality of life, and heal from
past traumas; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim June 2019, as
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month in the State of New York;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the
State of New York.
