Full Text of SR0301 102nd General Assembly
SR0301 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel, | 3 | | severe, acute illness, has rapidly spread throughout Illinois, | 4 | | resulting in unnecessary loss of life, loss of economic | 5 | | stability, increasing behavioral health struggles, and new | 6 | | trauma exposure for every race, age, gender, and ethnicity; | 7 | | this has resulted in an increasing public health disaster and | 8 | | acceleration of the current legal, educational, health, and | 9 | | social systems volatility, which brings the need for | 10 | | healthcare and human services transformation for every | 11 | | individual in Illinois; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Dysfunction of neurological, endocrine, and other | 13 | | polyvagal mechanisms in the body can lead to chronic and | 14 | | severe physical and mental illness with severe associated | 15 | | cost; the effects of trauma exposures on humans are detailed | 16 | | in research over the last two decades from the evolving | 17 | | sciences of neuroscience, molecular biology, public health, | 18 | | genomics, and epigenetics, revealing that experiences such as | 19 | | a community trauma, individual trauma, and pandemic trauma | 20 | | result in significant impacts at the micro, meso, and macro | 21 | | health system levels; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, The vast short term impact of COVID-19 has led to | 23 | | a surge in suicides, overdoses on drugs and alcohol, abuse, |
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| 1 | | neglect, and general anxiety and depression; the collateral | 2 | | damage will continue to impact the daily living and | 3 | | functionality of individuals due to the increasing isolation | 4 | | and loneliness being experienced; beyond facing the barriers | 5 | | present pre-pandemic, individuals are now facing magnified | 6 | | obstacles related to access to care and unprecedented | 7 | | interruptions to existing care for existing mental illness; it | 8 | | is now vital for mental health and wellness to be viewed as a | 9 | | political priority due to its direct link to social injustice, | 10 | | poverty, systemic discrimination, and racism; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The continued short-term impact of COVID-19 has | 12 | | been well discussed; the long-term impact, while it may be | 13 | | able to be predicted, is still not fully known and | 14 | | comprehended; by proactively anticipating, applying | 15 | | evidence-based knowledge, and listening closely to the stories | 16 | | of every individual in Illinois, we understand that public | 17 | | health must take a capacity building and foundational approach | 18 | | to the development, dissemination, and support of programs | 19 | | that have been demonstrated or can lead the way to addressing | 20 | | these long-term impacts, including addressing the growing | 21 | | mental and physical health needs and epigenetic impact; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Covid-19 not only affects society at a cellular | 23 | | level but also leads to social and economic devastation, | 24 | | including the impact it has had on the basic safety and |
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| 1 | | security needs of Illinois families and also the ability to | 2 | | achieve adequate food, water, warmth, and rest, as well as | 3 | | inequality in meeting children's individual educational needs | 4 | | for building the hope and strength of our future; at a time | 5 | | when the struggles for individuals in Illinois are escalating | 6 | | from the loss of power and ability to care for themselves and | 7 | | their families, it is essential to address the social, mental, | 8 | | physical, financial, and educational, short-term and long-term | 9 | | costs of this pandemic, with special attention paid to trauma | 10 | | caused on micro, meso, and macro level systems; it is no longer | 11 | | acceptable to only embrace resilience but defeat the | 12 | | malignancy of history and man-made odds; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, It is necessary, now more than ever, that every | 14 | | individual in Illinois has a fair and just opportunity to be | 15 | | healthy, not only physically but also mentally and | 16 | | emotionally; it is vital to recognize the overwhelming impact | 17 | | of the current pandemic situation and the resulting overall | 18 | | trauma on our communities, families, State, economy, and | 19 | | health and mental well-being; healing in all policies and | 20 | | community healing will only occur when we acknowledge the | 21 | | harms done to individuals in Illinois, especially those of | 22 | | color; understanding, supporting, and recognizing that the | 23 | | siloed approach to policy and support of the past no longer | 24 | | fits into our present and that committing to further health | 25 | | equality, social justice, and sustainable strengthening of the |
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| 1 | | public health system is imperative for healing of every | 2 | | individual in Illinois and our State as a whole; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Other states, such as Wisconsin, California, | 4 | | Massachusetts, Missouri, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington, | 5 | | have focused on bipartisan efforts to build trauma-informed | 6 | | states; Illinois has taken steps to begin to establish racial, | 7 | | justice, and children-healing initiatives; the future of | 8 | | healing in Illinois must now shift from trauma-informed care | 9 | | to a healing-centered engagement, which is more effective and | 10 | | less costly, to quickly respond and facilitate the development | 11 | | of a neighborhood-by-neighborhood evidence-based direction; | 12 | | therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that policy decisions | 15 | | enacted by the Illinois State Legislature should acknowledge | 16 | | and take into account the principles of trauma whenever | 17 | | possible and consider the concepts of toxic stress, early | 18 | | adversity, and buffering relationships and note the role of | 19 | | early intervention and investment in trauma-informed policies | 20 | | leading to a healing-centered environment; Illinois will join | 21 | | the ranks of a national movement currently led by 13 states to | 22 | | be trauma-informed and will transform to become the first | 23 | | declared Healing Centered State to close the empathy gap as | 24 | | important strategies to achieve a lasting foundation for a |
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| 1 | | more prosperous and sustainable State through investing in | 2 | | human capital; and be it further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That Illinois should invest in technological | 4 | | connectivity that includes detailed information and resources | 5 | | on trauma-informed care, standards for providing | 6 | | evidence-based trauma-informed treatment, peer to peer | 7 | | networking, and creation of belonging through narrative | 8 | | expression; this will happen by development of a | 9 | | bi-directional communication tool that is accessible to | 10 | | communities through all of Illinois; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That Illinois should move from a siloed, | 12 | | individual approach to a collaborative, person-centered | 13 | | healing approach, to identify, strengthen, and empower | 14 | | individuals and communities to craft a future positive history | 15 | | of Illinois; Illinois will light the way by creating a Healing | 16 | | Capacity Building Center housed at a public health association | 17 | | in Illinois to provide consultation to educational, legal, | 18 | | health, and other institutions and agencies including but not | 19 | | limited to needs assessments, observation, individual and | 20 | | group debriefing, and ongoing coaching and mentoring; the goal | 21 | | is not to recreate but to act as a catalyst for supporting | 22 | | existing services and programming to eliminate the currently | 23 | | accepted policy of violence in our State; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That by providing financial backing to a renewed | 2 | | focus on rebuilding healthcare and human services systems | 3 | | further damaged by COVID-19 in such a way that will meet and | 4 | | surpass national standards of trauma-informed systems, the | 5 | | State of Illinois will be able to move to a focus on healing.
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