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2006 National Crime Victims' Rights Week The honorees received special recognition during the awards ceremony hosted April 21, 2006, by the Office for Victims of Crime to honor victim advocates, organizations, and programs in the field of victim services.
To view more details, click on a photo for an enlarged view. Volunteer for Victims Awards
Alan Gross Alan Gross is a mediator, counselor, community organizer, trainer, mentor, and volunteer for Safe Horizon. He holds a Ph.D. in social psychology and is a respected academic who is at ease counseling the grieving and traumatized clients who represent New York's most vulnerable citizens. Alan has volunteered with the Safe Horizon Mediation Program in many capacities, including chairing its Advisory Board and serving as Acting Senior Director. He was a driving force behind Safe Horizon's September 11th Victims' Assistance Initiative, which provided material and financial assistance, counseling, mediation, and children's services in the immediate wake of the tragedy. One of the challenges of meeting victims' needs post-September 11th was coordinating the activities of a vast range of service providers, governmental entities, and community-based organizations to avoid redundancy and provide the most efficient response. In his role as Safe Horizon's Resident Outreach Manager, Alan worked tirelessly to build bridges among the stakeholders, facilitating meetings between Safe Horizon, the Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, New York City Council members, and community organizations. Most importantly, he consistently put victims at the center of his work. Alan recognized that victims' voices needed to be heard in the recovery effort. He personally visited the 25 housing units most affected by the disaster and quickly realized that many inhabitants were too frail, traumatized, or uninformed to access relief services. With other team members, Alan devised a strategy to bring services to the affected residents, establishing onsite case management programs in the lobbies or basements of the buildings. Material assistance applications, grief counseling, life skills training, and referrals to a broad range of victims' services were all available onsite. His contributions toward and compassion for victims is immeasurable. Thanks in part to Alan's significant efforts, including his work as the Disaster Relief Volunteer Coordinator, whose team mobilized, trained, and deployed more than 2,000 volunteers from around the Nation, Safe Horizon is now widely recognized as an example of how a nonprofit agency can efficiently and inclusively respond to unprecedented catastrophes. Alan was nominated by Gordon J. Campbell, Chief Executive Officer, Safe Horizon, Inc.
W. Gregory Wims W. Gregory Wims is a community activist who founded the Victims' Rights Foundation, Inc. (VRF) in response to the senseless killings of three Washington, D.C., area women in 1996. As the volunteer president of VRF, Gregory raises funds to assist victims of crime, their families, and their communities. Working with local law enforcement, VRF also provides reward money for the apprehension of perpetrators. Through his work with VRF, Gregory has helped comfort victims' families following a number of tragic crimes, including the 2000 shooting at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and the brutal murder of 8-year-old Kevin Shiflett in Alexandria, Virginia. Gregory was also instrumental in forming and supporting the Sniper Victims' Fund in response to the 2002 sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Working closely with the families of the victims of the sniper attacks, Gregory spearheaded a fundraising activity that garnered $500,000 to distribute among the families, and acted as a victim advocate in the 2-month murder trial of Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad that followed. Most recently, Gregory has worked with the widow of Richard Kyeremeh, a Ghanaian native who was murdered during a burglary of his home on January 9, 2005. Bridgette Quansah-Kyeremeh, also a Ghanaian native, had no family or support system in the United States at the time of her husband's death. Gregory worked with Ms. Quansah-Kyeremeh to provide comfort and support during the murder trial and sentencing. In memory of Richard Kyeremeh, Gregory and Ms. Quansah-Kyeremeh and her family opened a VRF office in Ghana in January 2006 with 14 charter members, to help victims of crime in that country. Gregory began his volunteer career in 1969 when he was elected vice-president of the State of Maryland Youth Commission. He continues to serve as a volunteer and community activist in the Washington, D.C., area, bringing comfort and aid to those in need. Gregory was nominated by OVC. |
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