STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island will be home to a first-of-its-kind government body meant to address issues facing male adolescents.
In a statement released recently, Borough President James Oddo announced the creation of the Borough Hall Council on Boys and Men meant to address what he refers to as the nation’s “boy crisis.”
“This is the crossroads and the culmination of what has been 27 years of work in both our Council team and in our Borough Hall team," Oddo said in the statement. “If you look at the common denominator throughout that work, it has been about young people."
Lower reading rates, a shorter life expectancy, and higher rates of suicide among males in the United States are some of the reasons Oddo said he saw the need to establish the council.
Oddo announced the move to establish the council with Dr. Warren Farrell, who is part of a nationwide effort to establish a White House version of the council.
Farrell previously served as a board member for the National Organization of Women, and as an adviser to the White House Council on Girls and Women, which was formed in 2009, according to the release.
As part of the borough’s efforts to get a similar council established for boys and men, Oddo and City Councilman Joseph Borelli penned a letter to Lynne Patton, the U.S. Department Housing and Urban Development official overseeing New York and New Jersey, seeking her support, according to the media release.
Members of the council have not yet been selected, but the media release said Oddo and co-chair Sen. Diane Savino are searching for people who want to take part in the council.
Oddo and Farrell expressed optimism that the formation of the council would benefit all members of society.
“The sooner we get to identifying and working on the ways to help our young boys, they will grow into men who help other young boys who will grow into men who do not abuse women, but into men who lift women,” Oddo said.