Dear Sharra, In America today, we will lose 14 youth to homicide. Every 12 minutes, another American will be taken by suicide. This year, one in seven children will be abused or neglected. One in three American women are sexually assaulted in her lifetime. We aren't at peace. While the psychological damage is beyond calculation, the financial cost is quantifiable, and it is staggering. We lose $21 billion dollars each year to youth violence. The lifetime cost of rape is over $122 thousand per victim. The current rate of suicide costs is $70 billion every year. Cultivating peace in America doesn't just mean punishing violence; we have to invest in cultivating the conditions of peace. It's time for a strategic approach to waging peace. Peace-building requires a sophisticated, analytical approach to the causes of violence and the field-tested techniques used to reduce it. Its tools can be tested and results can be tracked. That's what makes peace-building so cost-effective. Dollar for dollar, research shows that investing early to prevent conflicts from escalating into violent crises is, on average, 60 times more cost effective than intervening after violence erupts. That's why I need your help establishing a U.S. Department of Peace. I hope you'll join me in our campaign to establish a United States Department of Peace by signing our petition. The current administration actively cuts programs that are statistically proven to reduce the incidence of violence. This is nonsensical, and a Williamson administration would alter this for our nation and for the world. Under my administration, a U.S. Department of Peace would: - Pursue a strategic, scientifically-based approach to reducing violence and heal trauma
- Create a cabinet-level position to advise the president on all matters of peace
- Strengthen the connection between the Department of State and Department of Defense Research and promote peace-building techniques and strategies in America
- Expand existing policies and programs that effectively address violence, suicide, domestic violence, and drug abuse
- Invest in community development, conflict mediation, trauma-informed education and community wraparound services
- Provide a federal platform to the peace-building community
- An agenda to cultivate peace is an agenda to serve every generation of Americans
We need it now more than ever. I hope you'll join me in our campaign to establish a United States Department of Peace by signing our petition. We must rise up and stand together for peace. Here are two things you can do right now to help us rise: - Add your name to this petition
- Donate any amount to my campaign and get a free U.S. Department of Peace sticker
 When we stand together, we can create our vision. It's time to wage peace. With love, Marianne | 
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