Helga West

Remarks submitted by Helga West, President and CEO, Witness Justice

Welcome, and Good Morning.

I'm Helga West, President and CEO of Witness Justice, a national nonprofit for victims of violent crime. Thank you all for taking the time to join us today.

As stated by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, "The psychological effects of violence and trauma in our society are pervasive, highly disabling, yet largely ignored."

As we all know, this reality is not confined to state mental health programs. As a survivor of an attempted murder, and now advocate and service provider to violent crime survivors, I am acutely aware that trauma is a fundamental factor of survivors' health and wellbeing that rarely receives the attention it deserves.

Psychological trauma is not a new phenomenon. Yet the effects of September 11, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the war in Iraq have created a new sense of urgency around trauma-related issues. We must act now - together - to confront this growing and very real public health crisis that affects more and more Americans every day.

The reality is that most service providers are simply unaware of this evolving crisis or aren't yet equipped to effectively address trauma. And, since every survivor heals in their own way and at their own pace, meaningful short, intermediate, and long-term support must be made available.

Untreated trauma can lead to substance abuse, physical and mental health disorders, increased violence and incarceration rates, and a host of other harmful outcomes that fuel the problem and that themselves have devastating human, social, and economic consequences. Sadly, we also know that children are among the most vulnerable and the most severely impacted by untreated trauma.

Witness Justice is honored to join the many survivors, experts, and organizations who have been working to address this issue, and hope that today marks the beginning of a truly "trauma-informed" era, whereby a comprehensive understanding of trauma will be integrated into the many victim and human service systems.

Though we've made good progress, there's still a great deal of work ahead. We thank you all for joining us and look forward to collaborating with you to protect and improve the health and wellbeing of our nation.