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For Immediate Release
National Contact:
Patty Kuderer,
Director of Communications,
206-910-2422
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September 6, 2007
NATIONWIDE ‘WALK FOR PEACE’ TO BE HELD SEPTEMBER
15TH
[ Washington, DC] On
September 15th, citizens across the country will participate in a nationwide “Walk for Peace” to
be in over 23 states. The walks are intended to raise public awareness of the
deep need for increased efforts in violence reduction and prevention, and specifically
to educate people on HR 808, current legislation in the House of Representatives
to create a cabinet-level U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence. This is the
second annual walkathon sponsored by The Peace Alliance, the nonprofit, non-partisan
citizen action organization leading the rapidly growing national grassroots campaign
to create a U.S. Department of Peace.
“Millions of lives are lost or permanently affected by violence in this
country alone,” said Peace Alliance Executive Director Dot Maver, noting
that, according to the FBI Crime Statistics Report, there were nearly 1.4 million
violent crimes reported in the United States in 2005. “This number doesn’t
include unreported crimes,” Maver continued. “It’s a sobering
reminder that violence has become a leading public health issue that costs us
billions of dollars every year.” Maver added that a 2004 World Health Organization
report found that the United States spends between $300 billion and $500 billion
per year on the after-effects of violence, not including war-related costs. “We
have to get serious about reducing and preventing violence,” Maver said. “We
can’t afford not to.”
Domestically, the Department of Peace will research, propose and facilitate practical,
field-tested solutions to reduce and prevent violence. It will provide additional
and much-needed financial and institutional heft to strengthen and complement
our current approach to violence, adding a much-needed focus on prevention through
increased education funding for local programs that are proven effective at reducing
and preventing violence.
Internationally, the Department will advise the President and Congress on the
most innovative techniques to establish and promote peace among nations, and
will research and analyze the root causes of war to help prevent conflicts from
escalating to the point of violence. It will create a Peace Academy, on par with
the Military Service Academies, to build a world-class faculty of peacebuilding
experts, many of whom currently live in the United States. They will analyze
peacebuilding at the highest level, advise other branches of government, and
expand the training of civilian and military peacekeepers.
Please visit www.thepeacealliance.org for
more information on Walks for Peace events in your area, the legislation and
the grassroots campaign.
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