Shaheen Hosts Roundtable in Laconia to Discuss Her Bill to Combat Adverse Childhood Experiences
**Later in the day, Shaheen examined storm damage in Alton.**
Shaheen hosting a roundtable discussion in Laconia on the ACERT program.
Shaheen examining storm damage and recovery efforts in Alton.
(Manchester, NH) – This week, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) hosted a roundtable discussion at Lakes Region Community Services (LRCS) to learn more about the Adverse Childhood Experiences Response Team (ACERT) program efforts being made in Laconia and the surrounding communities. Mayor Hosmer, area law enforcement officials and community and mental health professionals joined the Senator’s discussion.
The ACERT program addresses adverse childhood experiences associated with exposure to trauma by helping to fund programs that allow law enforcement and first responders to connect with local child specialists and professionals. Resources from these programs help facilitate early intervention to mitigate the impact of childhood trauma. Shaheen recently reintroduced the National ACERT Grant Program Authorization Act, which would establish a grant program to help ACERT programs throughout the country.
“Traumatic childhood experiences can inflict long-term consequences on a person’s physical, mental and emotional development. We need a national effort to address childhood trauma and develop support systems for victims. That’s why I recently reintroduced the National ACERT Grant Program Authorization Act, which would help facilitate the creation of early intervention and trauma-informed care for affected families nationwide,” said Senator Shaheen. “I was proud to host Laconia Mayor Hosmer, local law enforcement and mental health professionals at Lakes Region Community Services to discuss the ACERT program, my new bill and how we can work together to break the cycle of trauma for many Granite State children and families.”
As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Shaheen also fought to secure $750,000 for the enhancement of ACERT infrastructure and training resources for law enforcement and first responders in the fiscal year (FY) 2022 funding legislation that was signed into law.
Later in the day, Shaheen met with the Alton Town Administrator and senior officials from the New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to see firsthand the damage caused by recent storms and receive a briefing on recovery efforts in the town and throughout the state.
“I was in Alton to see the extensive road damage caused by the recent storms and to discuss the recovery efforts with Alton Town Administrator Ryan Heath and the senior state officials,” said Senator Shaheen. “I want to thank the local public works teams for working hard to reopen these roads, especially the emergency routes used by first responders. As extreme weather events become increasingly common due to climate change, I will work to ensure the climate mitigation and resilience investments I fought to secure in the Inflation Reduction Act are fully implemented.”
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