TKF's Gandhi Nonviolence Awards 2003
TKF Event Celebrated Successes in the Fight Against Youth Violence
(SAN DIEGO, CA) Eight individuals and organizations in San Diego County dedicated to the fight against youth violence were honored with the "Gandhi Nonviolence Award" for 2003 at a special Awards Ceremony on Saturday, September 27, at 5:30pm at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego. The Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF), a non-profit organization, dedicated to combating youth violence through education, hosted the sixth annual event.
The recent shooting death of 14-year-old Evan Nash, a TKF "Circle of Peace" youth advisory council co-founding member, highlights the ongoing need for a commitment to peace by all of us. TKF founder Azim Khamisa said, "As we have done with my son Tariq’s death, and as our Gandhi Award recipients have also done, let us take the tragedy of violence and let it propel us all to do good in the world, to work together and personally pledge as Evan did to fight for peace. This group of dedicated men, women and youth is willing to risk it all for the sake of our children. We celebrate their success and are proud to call attention to their important work on this day".
Business – Viejas
Enterprises
At one time, the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians relied on charitable contributions
from the community for a better life. Now, the people of Viejas are in a
position to give back, and they have done so beyond measure. The Viejas
Band, directly and through its wholly owned business enterprises — Viejas
Casino, Viegas Outlet Center, and Borrego Springs Banks — has harnessed
this "new buffalo" and generously shares its resources with hundreds
of local schools, community groups and organizations. Their philanthropic
support includes the Tariq Khamisa Foundation along with many other youth-focused
groups that share TKF's vision for the future. The Viejas Band views these
contributions as one of the many ways they give back to the community, as
well as sharing in projects and activities to improve the lives of all San
Diegans. The good fortune of the Viejas Band is now the good fortune of
everyone privileged to call them neighbor.
Community Leader
(Individual) – Casey Gwinn
San Diego City Attorney Casey Gwinn has devoted his legal career to fighting
the scourge of family violence. As a prosecutor, he has personally handled
10,000 cases of family violence over the last 16 years. Casey founded the
nationally recognized City Attorney's Child Abuse and Domestic Violence
Unit, which successfully contributed to a 70% drop in domestic violence
homicides since 1985 in San Diego. Casey also founded the San Diego Parenting
Project, which mentors and supports parents of first-time juvenile offenders.
Since 1996, more than 1,200 families have been helped by the Project. Casey
partnered with the Public Defender's Office, San Diego City Schools and
Former San Diego Police Chief David Bejarano to create San Diego's respected
"Peer Court", which has served thousands of students since its
creation in 1997. But beyond the numbers and the initiatives, Casey has
bravely taken a stand against family violence and its effect on children
by talking publicly about the cycle of abuse he experienced in his own family.
His story helps motivate others to honestly address the impact of violence
in their own families and make real and lasting change.
Community Leader
(Organization) – San Diego Restorative Justice Mediation Program,
Director Pearl Hartz
For ten years, Pearl Hartz, a retired schoolteacher and counselor, has directed
the Restorative Justice Mediation Program (RJMP), an agency that brings
juvenile criminal offenders and victims together in mediation. Staffed entirely
by volunteers and dependent on small donations, this grassroots organization
has worked successfully with 700 cases such as vandalism, petty theft, assaults,
schoolyard fights, break-ins, and even hate crimes referred by law enforcement
agencies and the courts. Through the dialogue of mediation, young offenders
learn that violence affects real people with real feelings. In turn, victims
have an opportunity to work through their pain and experience the healing
power of forgiveness. As a result, both parties and their families are "restored".
RJMP also educates judges, community leaders, members of faith communities
and other groups in the victim-offender reconciliation model of mediation.
Under Pearl's leadership, the RJMP hosted San Diego's first-ever Restorative
Justice Conference, which trained more than 100 community volunteers.
Education – Melissa Janak
Melissa Janak has worked countless hours to bring the Tariq Khamisa Foundation's
essential messages of peace, hope and forgiveness to students at Kroc Middle
School in Clairemont. During 2002, in her role as a school counselor, Melissa
helped bring TKF's Violence Impact Forum program to the campus and successfully
advocated for presenting TKF's newly developed 16-week PeaceWorks program
to Kroc's seventh grade students. Melissa coordinated the seemingly endless
details that made both programs so successful, from talking with administrators
to pushing the paperwork. Melissa herself served as a credentialed staff
teacher in four PeaceWorks classes every week for the four months of the
program. Throughout her career, Melissa has been relentless in her quest
to teach youth to make positive choices. Melissa's dedication is one of
the most exemplary efforts TKF has witnessed in its many years of working
with school district personnel. The results of Melissa's dedication have
been the "planting of many seeds of hope" and a lasting legacy
of nonviolence that will forever change her students and our community.
Faith Community –
Father Joe Carroll
Over 20 years ago, a local bishop in the Catholic Church asked priest Joe
Carroll to take over operations at St. Vincent De Paul Village. That request
not only changed this former New York parish priest's life, it has changed
the lives of thousands of local San Diegans. Back then, the facility was
hardly a village. From its humble start, "Father Joe" as the Monsignor,
is still fondly known, has transformed St. Vincent De Paul into a model
for the entire nation. St. Vincent’s mission is the rehabilitation of the
homeless and working poor in San Diego County. While providing transitional
housing, St. Vincent De Paul’s programs include vocational training, resume
writing and interviewing skills, parenting classes, English as a Second
Language, and many support groups. The rules are tough but fair. Participants
quickly learn that it’s not a free ride, but it’s a journey that will change
their lives forever. Father Joe tirelessly promotes the work of St. Vincent's
and, through the power of communication, has built a compelling case for
public support that allows his important work to grow and serve even more
individuals and families in need.
Community Communications
– KPBS
KPBS, San Diego's public television and radio station, has distinguished
itself among the local media with its thoughtful, solutions-oriented approach
to news and information. KPBS is committed to serving the San Diego community
through its innovative programming and outreach initiatives. KPBS sponsored
and promoted the award-winning, one-hour documentary entitled "Culture
of Hate: Who Are We?" which examined disenfranchised youth in Lakeside
who join white power movements. The KPBS public affairs program "Full
Focus" has addressed issues with serious impact on youth, including
gang violence, underage drinking and street racing. Unlike many in the media
who simply offer sensationalism and public hand wringing, KPBS and "Full
Focus" also offer messages of hope, including a profile of Thich Nhat
Hanh's teachings of peace and nonviolence and the work of the Tariq Khamisa
Foundation. KPBS has devoted resources to a major outreach initiative called
"Project Q Kids", a multi-year effort to provide information and
training to parents throughout San Diego on child rearing in a challenging
world.
Youth (Female)
– Jill Hanna, 18
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in youth ages 14 to 25, with
homicide the third leading cause of death. Often, they are related. However,
18-year-old Jill Hanna has committed herself to stopping this type of violence.
Having faced her own hopelessness and desperation not that long ago, Jill
has demonstrated great resilience in her life and taken it an important
step further. She provided the inspiration, motivation and energy needed
to create the Peer Suicide Prevention Education Program at Junipero Serra
High School in Tierrasanta. This was no small task, as the barriers to acknowledging
and discussing such a sensitive and disturbing subject are many. This program
has fostered understanding and skill building not only for students, but
for school staff as well. Jill and several peers worked together to develop
and present a moving lesson to 600 students in 17 classrooms. The message
was beautifully conveyed in a simple and personal way: "We care about
you. Come talk to us. We want to help." Jill plans to keep this program
active during the 2003-04 school year and bring hope and assistance to students
suffering from the devastating effects of depression.
Youth (Male) –
Zachary Pesavento, 12
Zachary Pesavento is a 12-year-old seventh grade student at Eastlake Middle
School in Chula Vista. At such a young age, Zachary has already left a positive
mark on the world. When he was five years old, he made his first public
speech about the importance of peaceful actions. In the years since, Zachary
has delivered many more motivational speeches in the community and participated
in "Interactions for Peace" workshops and trainings throughout
California. He has developed lesson plans for students to teach the "Primary
Peacemaker" program to other students in kindergarten through the third
grade. Zachary has organized student demonstration teams to talk about peaceful
conflict resolution and has been instrumental in Clearview Charter School's
"Peace Patrol" efforts to sustain a peaceful and safe school environment.
He is actively involved in bringing "Interactions for Peace" to
Eastlake Middle School. Alongside his activism, Zachary also reaches out
one-on-one to peers who are in need of a friend and encouragement to reach
their own potential. Zachary is a living example of peacemaking every day.