Assembly Resolution No. 931 BY: M. of A. Stirpe MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim March 2024, as Brain Injury Awareness Month in the State of New York WHEREAS, The State of New York takes great pride in calling attention to serious medical conditions which affect thousands of New Yorkers; and WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim March 2024, as Brain Injury Awareness Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with the observance of National Brain Injury Awareness Month; and WHEREAS, Social Brain Organization was developed and launched in January of 2019, for brain injury survivors and families to have a community to come together; and WHEREAS, Social Brain Organization has relieved these survivors and their families of this burden by creating a community to bring them together; through monthly and weekly meetups, both in person and virtually, a brain injury survivor can find a friend, listen to music, participate with local college students, enjoy a picnic on a nice day, and be with others who understand their similarities; and WHEREAS, Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic this vital organization created a medical supply closet to provide the local community with basic items of necessity; and WHEREAS, By educating, training, advocating, and supporting people with brain injury, Social Brain Organization ensures that no individual has to face brain injury alone; and WHEREAS, In New York State, more than 500 people sustain a brain injury every day and it is estimated that brain injuries occur 50% more often and are not reported; and WHEREAS, Each year, an estimated 2,200 New York residents die from a traumatic brain injury and another 19,000 are hospitalized; and WHEREAS, A brain injury is an injury to the brain that occurs after birth and is not congenital, degenerative, or hereditary; examples include stroke, exposure to toxic substances, oxygen deprivation, infectious disease, trauma from motor vehicle and other high-velocity accidents and even concussions resulting from mild trauma; and WHEREAS, One of the complexities about brain injury is that no two brain injuries are alike; and WHEREAS, A brain injury may produce a diminished or altered state of consciousness and can result in an impairment of cognitive abilities or physical functioning; it can also result in the disturbance of behavioral or emotional functioning; and WHEREAS, The impairments that result from traumatic brain injury can be temporary or permanent and can cause partial or total functional disability or psychosocial maladjustment; and WHEREAS, Brain Injury Awareness Month is dedicated to educating the public about brain injuries and de-stigmatizing brain injury, empowering those who have survived brain injury and their caregivers, and promoting the many types of support that are available to people living with brain injuries; and WHEREAS, It is in the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize the achievements made and to continue these efforts by promoting the prevention and educating the public about the dangers of brain injury; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim March 2024, as Brain Injury Awareness Month in the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New York; and Social Brain Organization.