For every one homicide victim, there is an average of ten surviving family members who suffer their loss in the aftermath

Resolution Text (PDF)

Washington (December 18, 2024) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) reintroduced the National Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month congressional resolution to honor survivors of homicide victims by designating November 20th through December 20th as National Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month. The resolution seeks to promote awareness of the intergenerational, traumatic, and lasting impacts of gun violence on families and broader communities. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts currently recognizes these dates as the Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month.

“Gun violence has become an all too common tragedy for families across the country. The mental trauma that gun violence inflicts on survivors and victims of homicide is unimaginable,” said Senator Markey. “I am proud to reintroduce this Senate Resolution to create a National Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month and amplify the efforts of survivors and advocates to heal the harm that gun violence inflicts on our society. We must support families impacted by homicide with resources to help alleviate any economic and informational burdens they may face when navigating the aftermath of homicide. This resolution is a first step in ensuring families get the respect and support they need.”

“Families and survivors of homicide victims deserve our unwavering recognition and healing. Their trauma is not just a statistic; it’s a profound reality that must never be normalized or overlooked,” said Representative Pressley. “Our resolution to establish National Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month honors the survivors of homicide victims and sends a powerful signal that we see them, their experiences are real, and we will not stop fighting to advance healing and stop the public health crisis that is gun violence. I am grateful for the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute and Senator Markey for their partnership on this critical resolution, and I urge Congress to pass it without delay.”

The resolution specifically:

  • Encourages support for survivors of homicide victims, including families, schools, and communities, with services, information, and research to better address the needs of families and communities severely impacted by violence and considers ways to improve access to, and the quality of, mental health services for survivors of homicide victims.
  • Calls on the people of the United States, interest groups, and affected persons to take an active role in the fight to end gun violence and homicide; to respond to all families suffering in the aftermath of homicide with consistency, compassion, competence and centering the principles of love, unity, faith, hope, courage, justice, and forgiveness; and to observe National Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month with appropriate activities.

“We are grateful to Senator Markey and Congresswoman Pressley for their leadership in listening to, and aligning public policy with, the needs of crime victims. We have long known that when survivors speak, change happens, and a federal resolution recognizing Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month amplifies and reaffirms our nation’s commitment to helping crime victims seek justice and healing. Hundreds of thousands of families across our country live with the grief and trauma of losing a loved one to violent crime, and it is critically important — this holiday season, and in all seasons — to recognize their experiences and pain. Working within our communities to truly hear what survivors are saying, to honor the dignity of every life lost, and to prevent further cycles of violence, makes our nation stronger, more compassionate, and more just,” said Clementina Chéry, Founder, President and CEO of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute.

The resolution is supported by the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, a healing and trauma support center based in Dorchester, Massachusetts, focused on caring for families and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief, and loss.

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