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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, All citizens of the United States possess the | ||||||
| 3 | basic human right to the preservation of personal dignity; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, All citizens of the United States deserve the | ||||||
| 5 | investment of every possible resource to ensure their
lasting | ||||||
| 6 | physical, mental, and emotional well-being; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, The brave men and women of the United States Armed | ||||||
| 8 | Forces who proudly serve, risk their lives to protect our | ||||||
| 9 | freedoms; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was first | ||||||
| 11 | defined by the American
Psychiatric Association in 1980 to | ||||||
| 12 | commonly and more accurately understand and treat veterans who | ||||||
| 13 | had
endured severe traumatic combat stress; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, Combat stress has historically been viewed as a | ||||||
| 15 | mental illness caused by a pre-existing flaw of
character or | ||||||
| 16 | ability; the word "disorder" carries a stigma that perpetuates | ||||||
| 17 | this misconception; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, Post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) can occur | ||||||
| 19 | after experiencing a severely traumatic event to include,
but | ||||||
| 20 | not be exclusive to, sexual assault, child abuse, high-impact | ||||||
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| 1 | collisions and crashes, natural disasters, acts of
terrorism, | ||||||
| 2 | and military combat; and | ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, PTSI is a very common injury to the brain that is | ||||||
| 4 | treatable and
repairable; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Referring to the complications from | ||||||
| 6 | post-traumatic stress as a disorder perpetuates the stigma and
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| 7 | bias against mental illness; this stigma can discourage the | ||||||
| 8 | injured from seeking proper and timely medical
treatment; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Making PTSI less stigmatizing and more honorable | ||||||
| 10 | can favorably
influence those affected and encourage them to | ||||||
| 11 | seek help without fear of retribution or shame; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Proper and timely treatment can diminish suicide | ||||||
| 13 | rates; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, All citizens suffering from PTSI deserve our | ||||||
| 15 | compassion and consideration:
those who have received these | ||||||
| 16 | wounds in action against an enemy of the United States further | ||||||
| 17 | deserve our
tribute and acknowledgement; therefore, be it
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| 18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 19 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 20 | declare June 27, 2017 as "Illinois Post-Traumatic Stress Injury | ||||||
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| 1 | Awareness Day"; and be it further | ||||||
| 2 | RESOLVED, That we declare June of 2017 as "Illinois | ||||||
| 3 | Post-Traumatic Stress Injury Awareness Month"; and be it | ||||||
| 4 | further | ||||||
| 5 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Department of Public Health and | ||||||
| 6 | the Department of Veterans' Affairs to continue working
to | ||||||
| 7 | educate victims of abuse, crime, and natural disasters, and | ||||||
| 8 | service members, veterans and their families, and the general | ||||||
| 9 | public, about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of | ||||||
| 10 | post-traumatic stress injury;
and be it further
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| 11 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 12 | delivered to the Governor, the Director of the Department of | ||||||
| 13 | Public Health, and the Director of the Department of Veterans' | ||||||
| 14 | Affairs.
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