Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino brought together national and local public health and mental health experts on Tuesday to share ideas and improve violence prevention efforts throughout Westchester.
Close to 400 civic leaders, educators, clergy and community leaders attended the event at the Westchester County Center.
"After Sandy Hook, we all asked what we could do to prevent this from happening again," Astorino said. "As county executive and a father of three young children, I want to be part of the solution. The Safer Communities initiative is a start."
Providing a national perspective and setting the stage for the public health approach to this topic was Howard Spivak, MD, director of the Division of Violence Prevention at the national Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in Atlanta. This forum builds on the School Safety Symposium held on Feb. 27 at SUNY Purchase, where former New York City Police Chief William Bratton spoke and which was attended by more than 300 educators and public safety professionals.
The initiative offered practical, ready-to-go programs that combat violence by drawing on the expertise of the county departments of Public Safety, Health and Community Mental Health in collaboration with local leaders. The goals are to educate the public about available services and programs, enhance those capabilities and evaluate progress on an ongoing and long-term basis.
"Preventing violence is a complex task that may require many of us to do more to safeguard our children – our most vulnerable and precious asset – by taking a proactive approach to those who show signs of being troubled. Fortunately, most of the tools we need, we already have," Astorino said. "What we hope to do at this forum is to increase awareness of existing resources, build relationships to improve communication and act as a unified team to increase our effectiveness."
The April 9 event was open to the public. Read the most up-to-date program and RSVP.