Amendment Text (PDF)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement applauding the House passage of her amendment to support community organizations addressing trauma. Rep. Pressley’s amendment was included in the Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act and would expand eligible uses of federal funds to include partnerships that promote healthy communities through trauma prevention and mitigation. 

“Our community organizations are on the front lines of the fight to address our nation’s growing trauma crisis, and they need all the federal support they can get,” said Rep. Pressley. “Our amendment makes it easier for local organizations and non-profits who serve folks experiencing trauma to access critical federal grants so they can continue the work of helping our communities heal and thrive. I’m thrilled to see it pass the House and won’t stop fighting to get it through the Senate and onto President Biden’s desk.” 

Throughout her career, Congresswoman Pressley has been a tireless advocate for trauma-conscious policymaking.  In June 2021, Rep. Pressley reintroduced the STRONG Support for Children Act, her landmark legislation that takes a holistic and community-based approach to addressing the growing crisis of childhood trauma.  

In October 2021, Rep. Pressley, along with Reps. Dina Titus (NV-01), Peter Meijer (MI-03), and David McKinley (WV-01), introduced the Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act to expand mental health supports for survivors of natural disasters and terrorist attacks that do not receive a “Major Disaster” declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

In March 2021, Rep. Pressley sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to address the nation’s growing trauma crisis and laying out a series of steps the administration should take to confront the far-reaching hurt plaguing our communities and our nation.  In April, she published an op-ed where she reflected on the collective pain experienced by communities in her district over the past year.  

In July 2019, Rep. Pressley worked with Chairman Cummings to convene the first-ever Congressional hearings on childhood trauma.  Watch Congresswoman Pressley’s full question line and follow-up questions here and here. 

As a Boston City Councilor, she convened the Council’s first-ever listening-only session to hear directly from those impacted by the trauma of community gun violence. 

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