Pappas invites Manchester resident to State of the Union Address

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Congressman Chris Pappas (left) and Lara Quiroga in October 2019. Photo/Andrew Sylvia

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH) has announced that Lara Quiroga of Manchester will be his guest at the State of the Union address on Feb. 4, 2020.

Quiroga started Manchester’s first Adverse Childhood Experience Response Team (ACERT) program in 2015 at Amoskeag Health in collaboration with the Manchester Police Department and YWCA NH.

The program focuses on intervening during events in a child’s life which have a heavy impact on their future wellbeing, success in life and risk of violence.

Quiroga said she is honored to join Pappas in Washington and highlight what she describes as an innovative and cross-sector approach to addressing trauma in children and preventing poor health and behavioral outcomes stemming from those traumas as they become adults.

“ACERT has proven to be an asset in Manchester and other communities and I believe it will support children and families in communities throughout our nation to move upstream and protect our next generation from some of the public health crisis we are currently facing,” said Quiroga.

There are now several ACERT programs in New Hampshire, all of which have received assistance from the National ACERT Grant Program Authorization Act, which was spearheaded by Pappas in October 2019.

“Adverse childhood experiences can have a lifelong impact on kids. These response teams are crucial tools for communities to help mitigate trauma and ensure our kids have bright futures,” said Pappas. “Lara’s role in bringing ACERT to New Hampshire has been instrumental in addressing these challenges and protecting our kids. I’m proud to have her join me at the State of the Union next week to highlight her work and legislation that will expand ACERT in communities across the country.”

About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.