Senate Resolution No. 446 BY: Senator BIAGGI 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.