The four annual awards recognize institutions that demonstrate an innovative approach to confronting the root causes of domestic violence and developing solutions to break the cycle. Each award-winning program will receive a $10,000 cash prize in recognition of its work. The 2006 winners are:

• Cangleska, Inc is a comprehensive domestic violence prevention/intervention program in Kyle, South Dakota designed to provide advocacy to battered Oglala women and their children and hold offenders accountable. Cangleska, Inc. provides housing, medical, legal, social services, criminal justice, and advocacy for victims of domestic violence who may not desire or need out-of-home shelter. It provides educational classes for offenders, teaching them how to incorporate Lakota culture and values into their everyday life and family relationships. Cangleska, Inc. also monitors and assists the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe's system response to spousal abuse, provides domestic violence specific training to local agencies, and provides domestic violence probation services.
  
  
• The Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project at George Washington University Law Schoolin Washington, D.C. provides free or low-fee representation to survivors of domestic violence in appeals or significant issue litigation around the country. The program fills an urgent need for legal advocacy by providing battered women and children expert pro bono representation to appeal unjust trial court decisions to a higher court. GW Law School students participate in DV LEAP by providing research support for the appeals work being litigated by attorneys, and working with organizations involved in domestic violence policy and advocacy.
  


• The Relocation Counseling Project of the Family Law Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services in Boston is the only one of its kind in Massachusetts and most likely in the country. It is unique in its offering of free, comprehensive legal advice, information and referrals to victims of domestic violence who, because of profound safety concerns, are considering relocation from their current place of residence to another part of the state or country who have recently relocated to Massachusetts or who, for safety’s sake, want to change their identity. GBLS provides free civil legal assistance to low-income people in Boston and surrounding communities, including legal advice to full case representation, depending on client need. A national leader in poverty law, GBLS also undertakes representation and legal advocacy to address the root causes of poverty.
  
  
• The Texas Council on Family Violence in Austin, Texas is one of the largest domestic violence coalitions in the nation, with a mission is to end domestic violence through public education, partnerships, advocacy, and direct services. TCFV secured funding and invested time in research and development to create a public awareness campaign— “Break the Silence - Make the Call”—targeting the friends and family of those affected by domestic violence. The campaign was designed to inform victims of domestic violence that they are not alone and there are resources available to help them. In the first month of the television ads running, NDVH showed a 69 percent increase in Texas calls and a 93 percent increase in Texas Spanish-speaking calls. These numbers confirm TCFV’s earlier findings that Texas communities do not have enough information on available domestic violence resources.
  

The Celebrating Solutions Awards are open to non-profit or governmental programs that have been operating for a minimum of three years and have demonstrated innovation, positive outcomes, evidence of community partnerships and support, and potential for application in other communities. Nominations are judged by a panel of experts in criminal justice, health care, and public policy, and other disciplines that address domestic violence.

In its fourth annual awards competition, the Mary Byron Foundation received more than 250 nominations from nearly every state. To date, $160,000 in cash prizes has been awarded to programs in New York, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Arizona, North Carolina, Washington, Minnesota, and Oregon.

About the Mary Byron Foundation

The Mary Byron Foundation, a public grant-making charity based in Louisville, Kentucky, funds programs throughout the United States that are working to stop domestic violence.

The Foundation seeks innovative efforts that extend beyond crisis management to attack the root causes of this nationwide epidemic and prevent the violence from infecting the next generation.

Contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations make it possible for the Mary Byron Foundation to serve as a clearinghouse of proven, replicable solutions.

The Mary Byron Foundation is named in memory of a Louisville woman whose murder led to the creation of VINE®, the nation’s leading system of automated crime victim notification. Appriss®, Inc., the company that continues to provide this life-saving service, provided seed money to help establish the Mary Byron Foundation in 2000.

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