Title
Youth Violence - For the purpose of declaring youth violence a public health epidemic; and supporting the establishment of City-wide trauma-informed education and response methods.
Body
CITY COUNCIL OF THE
City of Annapolis
Resolution 30-20
Introduced by: Alderman Gay
Co-sponsored by: Alderwoman Tierney, Alderman Arnett,
Alderwoman Pindell Charles, Alderman Savidge, Mayor Buckley, Alderwoman Finlayson, Alderman Rodriguez, and Alderman Paone
A RESOLUTION concerning
Youth Violence
FOR the purpose of declaring youth violence a public health epidemic; and supporting the establishment of City-wide trauma-informed education and response methods.
WHEREAS, youth across the city are committing acts of violence against one another and throughout their communities; and
WHEREAS, violence is defined as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation; and
WHEREAS, the Center for Disease Control reports that many people survive violence and are left with permanent physical and emotional scars, and that violence erodes communities by reducing productivity, decreasing property values, and disrupting social services; and
WHEREAS, in 1985, former United States Surgeon General C. Everett Koop declared violence as a public health issue and called for the application of the science of public health to the treatment and prevention of violence; and
WHEREAS, an individual's characteristics, experiences, and environmental conditions during childhood and adolescence are an indicator of future violent behavior; and
WHEREAS, ages 15 through 18, the ages that students spend in high school, are the peak years of offending; and
WHEREAS, there is concern about high school dropout rates, academic performance, and violence in schools across this city based on w...
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