HR1003 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1003 LRB097 21167 GRL 68689 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The City of Chicago has the highest youth homicide rate in the country; homicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for youths age 14 to 24; and

WHEREAS, Homicide rates for African-American males are 3 times higher than those for Latino males and 25 times higher than those for Caucasian males; and

WHEREAS, In 1996, a resolution from the World Health Assembly declared violence to be a leading public health problem; and

WHEREAS, The World Health Organization developed a typology of violence that identified 3 categories: self-directed violence (by oneself), interpersonal violence (by another person), and collective violence (by larger groups); collective violence includes hate crimes, terrorist acts, and mob violence committed to advance a particular social agenda; and

WHEREAS, Violence exacts both a human and an economic toll on nations, and costs economies many billions of U.S. dollars each year in healthcare costs, legal costs, absenteeism from work, and lost productivity; the total direct and indirect costs, including cost for healthcare services, autopsies, police investigations, and lost productivity resulting from premature death, amount to nearly U.S. $80 million; and

WHEREAS, Violence is the result of the complex interplay of individual, relationships, social, cultural, and environmental factors, and is the product of multiple levels of influence on behavior; and

WHEREAS, There are biological and personal history factors that increase the likelihood of being a victim or perpetrator of violence; those factors include impulsivity, low educational attainment, substance abuse, and prior history of abuse and aggression; and

WHEREAS, Research shows that people are much more likely to engage in negative activities when those behaviors are encouraged and approved by friends, peers, intimate partners, and family members who all have the potential to shape an individual's behavior and range of experience; and

WHEREAS, Research shows that opportunities for violence are greater in areas of poverty or physical deterioration or where there are few institutional supports, such as those provided by places of worship; and

WHEREAS, There are cultural norms that support violence as an acceptable way to resolve conflicts, norms that give priority to parental rights over child welfare, norms that entrench male dominance over women and children, norms that support the use of excessive force by police against citizens, and norms that support political conflict; and

WHEREAS, There are health, educational, economic, and social policies that maintain high levels of economic and social inequalities between groups that contribute to high levels of violence; and

WHEREAS, There are 3 levels of public health violence prevention: primary prevention, which aims to prevent violence before it occurs; secondary prevention, which focuses on immediate responses to violence, such as pre-hospital care, emergency services, or treatment; and tertiary prevention, which focuses on rehabilitation, reintegration, and reducing long-term emotional or physical disabilities relevant to perpetrators of violence; and

WHEREAS, Public health strategies for the prevention of violence focus on specific target groups, such as universal interventions, which are programs such as community-wide media campaigns that are aimed at general populations; selected interventions, which are aimed at high-risk individual populations; and indicated interventions, which are aimed at perpetrators of violence; and

WHEREAS, A comprehensive response to violence is one that protects and supports victims of violence, reduces the perpetration of violence, and changes the circumstances and conditions that give rise to violence in the first place; and

WHEREAS, Faith and community-based organizations provide critical leadership, knowledge, and passion when it comes to preventing and intervening in cycles of youth violence around the country; and

WHEREAS, All throughout the country, faith and non-profit organizations have taken on many tasks in order to keep young people safe and increase positive opportunities for young people; and

WHEREAS, Staff and volunteers from churches, mosques, synagogues, and community centers mentor children, counsel parents, teach classes, serve meals, conduct neighborhood clean-ups, conduct home visits, and work with law enforcement to patrol the streets; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage faith-based organizations to develop and implement universal interventions aimed to prevent violence in Illinois' impoverished, underserved, and at-risk communities by providing employment opportunities, media, and educational campaigns, after school programs, mentoring programs, and other activities that replace negative messages, activities, beliefs, and attitudes with positive and productive activities, beliefs, and messages, through a transparent and collaborative process with the community that takes full advantage of State and federal funding resources.