Assembly Resolution No. 633

BY: M. of A. Simotas

MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
June 2017, 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 an anxiety 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
hyper-vigilance, panic attacks, intrusive memories, flashbacks,
nightmares, insomnia, avoidance, 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 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 if 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 high
rates of victimization, 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 received treatment over a 12-month period,
with 42% of those undergoing treatment receiving minimally adequate
care; and

WHEREAS, Without proper treatment, the physical, cognitive, and
emotional effects of PTSD can have debilitating impacts on an
individual's daily functioning, relationships, education, and career,

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 encouraging all New
Yorkers struggling with PTSD to seek the help and support necessary to
alleviate 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 2017, 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 Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of
New York.