MARC communities stand out in House Resolution 443

Philadelphia, PA – On July 13, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and co-sponsor Danny K. Davis (D-IL) introduced House Resolution 443 (H.Res. 443), a bi-partisan effort in the House of Representatives “recognizing the importance and effectiveness of trauma-informed care.”

The resolution lists 12 examples where trauma-informed care has been “promoted and established in communities across the United States.”  Of note, over half of these communities are leaders in the Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) program.

Coordinated by the Health Federation of Philadelphia (HFP) with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The California Endowment, MARC is a learning collaborative of 14 sites actively engaged in building the movement for a just, healthy and resilient world. Each MARC site has a dynamic cross-sector network organized around the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and resiliency. One goal of MARC is to elevate the lessons learned from these networks so they can serve as models to other communities who want to initiate or accelerate their own local movement.

“It’s exciting to see the exemplary work happening in these communities lifted up in the resolution,” said Clare Reidy, MARC program manager. “There is a lot we can learn from the MARC networks to both prevent and heal from childhood trauma at the individual, organization, community and policy levels.”

Elizabeth Hudson, director of the Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health and project director of the MARC work with the Children’s Mental Health Collective Impact, has been instrumental in advocating for trauma-informed care within the state. She and First Lady Tonette Walker have been working with Rep. Gallagher, who sponsored H.Res. 443, to raise awareness about trauma and support implementation of trauma-informed care at the national level.

The resolution’s co-sponsor, Rep. Danny K. Davis, is from Illinois, a state that has strong ties to MARC through the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative. That network has provided subject matter expertise to inform both state and national policy, including the recent Trauma-Informed Care for Children and Families Act (S. 774), co-sponsored by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). In addition to co-sponsoring H.Res. 443, Rep. Davis also introduced the House version of the Trauma-Informed Care for Children and Families Act (H.R.1757).

Other MARC communities highlighted in H.Res. 443 are Philadelphia, Kansas City, Tarpon Springs, and Walla Walla/Washington state. Two other statewide examples –Oregon and Massachusetts—encompass MARC communities in the Columbia River Gorge region and Boston, respectively.

H.Res. 443 shows that the work of MARC communities is making a difference beyond their own city, county, or state.

“This resolution will play a key role in helping to raise awareness about the powerful science of ACEs, resiliency and trauma-informed care,” said Leslie Lieberman, HFP’s senior director of special initiatives and consulting. “Raising awareness about these issues is a critical component of the Health Federation’s overall mission to improve systems and advocate for policy changes that contribute to building a culture of health for all. H.Res. 443 is a significant step in the right direction.”

For more information, contact MARC program Manager Clare Reidy.