At its 2012 Fall Health Braintrust in Washington, D.C., the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) will host a panel on violence affecting youth as a pressing public health challenge for the nation. Introduced by Congressman Bobby Scott, the panel on Friday will feature Prevention Institute Managing Director and UNITY Project Director Rachel Davis, who will speak on violence as a preventable problem, highlighting solutions to this problem that significantly impacts young people and their communities.
9:30 am - 10:45 am Session I: Bullying, Youth Violence and Suicide: Public Health Challenges Threatening the Nation's Future Leaders
This session will open with a special presentation by Congressman Bobby Scott, who will address youth violence and the legislative efforts he has and continues to champion to prevent youth violence across the nation.
Additional panelists will include:
- Rachel Davis, the Managing Director at the Prevention Institute, who will focus on youth violence as a preventable problem which fundamentally impacts young people and their communities. Solutions and successes in preventing violence will also be highlighted.
- Dr. Sherry Molock, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, George Washington University. Dr. Molock will focus on suicidality, cultural factors in suicide, and issues that need to be more consistently and delicately addressed as it pertains to suicide in racial and ethnic minority communities, particularly among young people.
- Dr. Joseph L. Wright, Professor and Senior Vice President, Children's National Medical Center. Dr. Wright will focus on bullying, will provide an overview of who is at risk for being bullied in the African-American community, the health repercussions of bullying to both bullies and those who bully, and the link between bullying and youth, as well as adult violence.
- Ms. Diarra Molock, College student at Elizabethtown College. Ms. Molock will share her experiences being bullied in high school and the impact it had on her, as well as her ideas about how to better prevent bullying.
- Following the panelists' presentations, Timothy Porter, CEO of Appddiction Studio - a company specializing in Smartphone application development - will deliver a special presentation about a new application, entitled StopBullies. This application allows bullying victims and bystanders to anonymously alert school administrators, parents and public safety officials to bullying activity. The application also provides helpful information and resources about bullying, such as warning signs and where to find help, and also tackles cyberbullying.