[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 41 (Friday, March 22, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     NANCY GRIGSBY NAMED WOMAN OF THE YEAR OF OHIO'S THIRD DISTRICT

                                 ______


                           HON. TONY P. HALL

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 21, 1996

  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to select Nancy Grigsby 
as the Woman of the Year of Ohio's Third District. Nancy is my choice 
for Woman of the Year because of her exceptional and compassionate 
commitment to help victims of domestic violence in Dayton, OH. She is 
the executive director of Artemis Center for Alternatives to Domestic 
Violence.
  Nancy has done outstanding work with battered women for 16 years. In 
1980-81 she worked as a crisis counselor at the YWCA Battered Women's 
Project, where she was struck by the bleak predicament of battered 
women, and the gross inequities which they face in society. Her concern 
for these women motivated her to cofound Artemis in 1984. This 
nonresidential organization provides counseling, legal services, 
children's therapy, and a 24-hour crisis hotline to battered women, 
men, and children who have filed criminal charges against a family 
member who has assaulted them.
  Victims of domestic violence often face stigmatization in our 
society, which makes it especially difficult for them to come forward 
and receive help. In addition, if a battered woman tries to leave home 
she faces a 75-percent higher risk of becoming a homicide victim. 
Because of this threat, only 1 out of 39 battered women will opt to 
move into a shelter. Nonresidential services like Artemis are therefore 
necessary to meet the needs of victims who cannot leave home.
  In addition to her efforts at Artemis, Nancy was the legislative 
committee chair of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network from 1990 to 
1994. She is a member of the Child Protection Task Force of Montgomery 
County, a member of the Domestic Violence Subcommittee of the Criminal 
Justice Policy Council of Montgomery County, and a member of the 
Endangering Children Subcommittee of the Criminal Justice Policy 
Council, Montgomery County. Through her work on all these fronts, Nancy 
has significantly contributed to the Dayton community by relieving 
emotional, physical, and mental suffering of victims who are not even 
safe from attack within their own homes.

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