Tuesday, September 16, 2003 4:39 PM
BY KAREN OCAMB
On Saturday, Sept. 13 the Press Club is cosponsoring a Fred Friendly-style forum on the public health effects of gang violence. The roundtable was organized by the UCLA Center for Communications and Community in conjunction with the California Wellness Center and the Black Journalists Association of Southern California.
Journalists will join national and local healthcare providers, gang-interventionists and community members to look at this underreported issue. the carnage and there are mental health issues for guilt-ridden survivors and fearful community residents,” said White. “These are issues that must be addressed.”
The Press Club, along with BJASC and additional cosponsors including the Los Angeles chapter of Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA-LA) and the California Chicano News Media Association (CCNMA), will suggest journalists for both the 12-person panel and as members of an interactive audience.
Dr. Deborah Prowthrow-Stith of the Harvard School of Public Health, a national author ity on community violence and a developer of public health approaches to gang violence, will deliver a keynote address.
As the first woman and youngest-ever Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Dr. Prowthrow-Stith expanded treatment pro- grams for AIDS and drug rehabilitation, overseeing a department budget of more than 300 million dollars and a department
of more than 4,500 employees.
During her tenure, Dr.
Prowthrow-Stith established the first Office of Violence Prevention in a Department of Public Health. She developed and wrote the first violence prevention curriculum for schools and communities, entitled the Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents, and co- wrote “Deadly Consequences,” the first
book to present the public health perspective on violence to a mass audience. As a leading expert on violence as a public health issue, she has been a source for journalists.
The event will be held from 9:30 am to 2:30 at the California African American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, in Los Angeles. Lunch and parking are free. Please RSVP as soon as possible at (310) 206-2189 or by email at gvpayne@ucla.edu. For more information, visit www.uclaccc.ucla.edu.
