Photo By Tonya Townsell | Fort McCoy leaders sign April awareness month proclamations March 30, 2023, at McCoy's...... read more read more
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Fort McCoy leaders signed observance proclamations March 30 during the April Awareness Kick-off event at McCoy’s Community Center at Fort McCoy.
The proclamations signed during this event included for Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention and Awareness Month and Alcohol Awareness and Prevention Month.
Proclamations also were later signed to observe Autism Awareness Month and Child
Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month as well.
The Fort McCoy Sexual Harassment/Assault Response Prevention (SHARP) team, Family Advocacy Program, Exceptional Family Member Program, and Army Substance Abuse Program coordinated this effort to bring the awareness to the monthly observances, officials said.
The Army SHARP Program at https://www.armyresilience.army.mil/SAAPM-2023/index.html discussed the 2023 theme for Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention and Awareness Month.
Nationwide, April is recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month,” the website staes. “This year the Army’s theme for its campaign is ‘Intervene We Are a Team: There is US in TrUSt. Can They Trust in You?’ The 2023 SAAPM campaign highlights the importance of building a culture of trust through intervention and prevent unwanted sexual behavior. We should all play an active role in keeping one another safe by creating a culture of trust and stepping up when we witness distressing or inappropriate behavior.”
For the Alcohol Awareness and Prevention Month, an article from 2021 by Janice Erdlitz of Lyster Army Health Clinic at https://www.army.mil/article/245667/alcohol_awareness_month is helpful in understanding the reason the observance exists, and more.
“April is National Alcohol Awareness Month, an annual campaign aimed at bringing awareness to the dangers of alcohol misuse,” Erdlitz writes in the article. “Recognizing the warning signs of alcohol abuse and receiving proper treatment can make a significant impact with the recovery process.”
In the article, Erdlitz also offered these tips.
“Know the facts about alcohol. What is moderate alcohol consumption? Moderate alcohol consumption is defined as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men,” the article states.
“What is heavy or high-risk drinking? Heavy or high-risk drinking is the consumption of more than three drinks on any day, or more than seven per week for women, and more than four drinks on any day or more than 14 per week for men.
“What is binge drinking? Binge drinking is the consumption within two hours of four or more drinks for women, and five or more drinks for men. Excessive (i.e., heavy, high-risk, or binge) drinking has no benefits, and the hazards of heavy alcohol intake are well known,” the article states. “Excessive drinking increases the risk of cirrhosis of the liver, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract and colon, injury, and violence. Excessive drinking over time is associated with increased body weight and can impair short-and long-term cognitive function.”
With Autism Awareness Month, a 2017 article by Lt. Col. Orlando Ruiz Sosa at https://www.army.mil/article/187005/autism_awareness_month_aims_to_educate describes it well.
“The aim of Autism Awareness Month, started by the Autism Society of America in 1970, is to educate the public about autism as a developmental disability and complex mental condition,” the article states. “Autism is a lifelong developmental disability with no single known cause. It can be characterized by difficulties in the way a person communicates or interacts with other people. Typically, children will show symptoms within the first three years of their lives.
“People with autism are classed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder and the terms ‘autism’ and ‘ASD’ are often used interchangeably,” the article further states. “As it is a wide spectrum disorder, people with autism have a set of symptoms unique to themselves; so no two people are the same.”
And for Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month, at Military OneSource at https://www.militaryonesource.mil/preventing-violence-abuse/child-abuse-prevention-month, it states how the Army Family Advocacy Program and others are looking for ways to continue to prevent child abuse, and more.
“Each April, the Family Advocacy Program aligns its awareness efforts with National Child Abuse Prevention Month, but we are committed to keeping (military children) safe year-round,” the website states. “Learn how to promote positive parenting and what to do if you think a child or teen needs help.”
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at https://www.dvidshub.net/fmpao, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”
(Article prepared by the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office.)
| Date Taken: | 04.12.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.12.2023 15:02 |
| Story ID: | 442504 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 154 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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