Mary Byron Project Announces "Celebrating Solutions" Winners; Introduces New Award for 2012

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mary Byron Project, fostering innovations and strategies to end domestic violence, has named four programs, as recipients of the prestigious Celebrating Solutions Awards.  This is the ninth year for the annual recognition, which showcases innovations that demonstrate promise in breaking the cycle of domestic violence. Local and national experts help select programs they believe serve as models for the nation.

This year's honorees are:

• Close to Home – Dorchester, MA takes the proven strategies of successful community organizing practices and applies it to domestic and sexual violence. They offer community members the tools to change their worlds and improve the safety of their community.
• Enlace Comunitario – Albuquerque, NM prevents future acts of domestic violence in the Latino immigrant community through an education campaign created and led by former domestic violence victims.
• Help Hotline Crisis Center – Youngstown, OH aims to change individual and corporate attitudes about family violence through an innovative workplace initiative.
• Planned Parenthood of New York City – New York, NY screens for intimate partner violence with a comprehensive approach and specialized training for health care staff.

Each agency receives $10,000 cash awards in recognition for their efforts.

"It's a thrill for us to recognize these four organizations – the fantastic four, you might call them for their commitment and their creative approach to ending this horrible crime," said Marcia Roth, executive director of the Mary Byron Project. "Every year we are amazed at the number and the quality of the applications we receive. This year there were more than 250 nominations. There are dozens of great programs across the country and it gets more and more difficult each year to pick only four."

Since 2003, the Mary Byron Project has awarded $360,000 to 32 agencies across the country.

New award announced

In 2012, the Mary Byron Project will add a fifth award to the Celebrating Solutions Awards. The Roth Award is specifically for programs that address the needs of underserved populations, which are identified by characteristics that include race, ethnicity, gender, faith, disability, low income, non-English speaking, sexual preference and victims from economically comfortable areas who don't know how to find services or are too ashamed to seek them.  The Roth Award will also be worth $10,000.

"We have to keep looking beyond crisis communication to determine the cause and cure for domestic violence before it reaches the next generation," said Roth. "Domestic violence is an epidemic that affects all of us and we need to do everything we can to put a stop to it."

About the Mary Byron Project

The Mary Byron Project – Fostering Innovations and Strategies to End Domestic Violence – was established in memory of the young woman whose murder led to the creation of VINE. As a nationally recognized thought leader on domestic violence, the Mary Byron Project cultivates and supports efforts that extend beyond crisis management to attack the root causes of this epidemic and help build safer, healthier communities. Learn more at www.marybyronproject.org.

SOURCE The Mary Byron Project