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Contact: Lori Maldonado
Public Information Specialist
(303) 692-2028
For Immediate Release Thursday, September 16, 2004
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Receives Funding to Develop Violence Prevention Programs
DENVER—The Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment Thursday announced that it has received an $85,384 grant to
improve the health of Colorado’s children and adolescents by preventing
violence.
Colorado is one of eight states to receive funding from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a two-year program that
will work to support change in societal norms and environmental conditions
contributing to violence.
Shannon Breitzman, director of the Injury and Suicide
Prevention Programs at the Department of Public Health and Environment,
said, “The funding is to be used to develop a strategic plan to address
youth violence in Colorado. Our focus will be on preventing our youth from
becoming involved in or being victims of violence. The funding will
strengthen Colorado’s efforts to prevent violence in our communities by
gaining a better understanding of the situations that contribute to
violence and to assist people in learning ways to prevent violence. With
this knowledge, we hope to be able to stop violence from further damaging
our communities.”
The program, which will be housed in the Department of
Public Health and Environment’s Injury and Suicide Prevention Program, is
a collaborative effort between the department’s Injury Section and the
Child Adolescent and School Health Section.
The program is being designed to provide information on
risk and protective factors for various forms of violence including youth
suicide; child maltreatment; teen dating violence; sexual violence; school
violence; community violence and bullying. Research findings will be used
to guide the development of prevention strategies that can address these
forms of violence.
Breitzman said that violent injuries alone affect more
than 877,700 young people from 10-to-24 years old each year in the U.S.
She said, “We need to learn more about risks and what protective factors
work to keep our children safe from harm. The department is excited to
take the lead in coordinating violence prevention efforts in Colorado
through this strategic planning process.”
National public health experts selected Colorado from
among numerous applicants following an objective review. Other states
selected for funding include Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New
Mexico, Rhode Island and Virginia.
To learn more about Colorado’s violence prevention
efforts, call (303) 692-2560 or visit the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s Injury Center Web site at
http://www.cdc.gov/injury.
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