[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E541-E543]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ACHIEVEMENT AGAINST THE ODDS AWARD RECIPIENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NEWT GINGRICH

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 20, 1997

  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, I recently had the opportunity to host in 
my office eight true American heroes. They are the recipients of the 
Achievement Against the Odds Award and were recognized at a dinner in 
their honor this March 10. The awards program, developed by Robert 
Woodson's National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, seeks to 
identify everyday citizens who have overcome significant personal, 
physical, and or/economic challenges to improve their lives and the 
communities in which they reside. Among this year's winners are a 
former youth gang leader now dedicated to stopping violence and a man 
and wife who have overcome long-time substance addiction and gone on to 
revitalize their crime-ridden neighborhood.
  It is vitally important that we recognize the everyday heroes all 
around us and shine the light on them for all to see. What a benefit to 
all of society to see how individuals can truly transform their own 
lives and that of their communities.
  I enter into the Congressional Record the inspiring life stories of 
these courageous individuals.

                Achievement Against the Odds Recipients

                      (Perry Brawley, Chicago, IL)

       At the age of six, living in the notorious Cabrini Green 
     public housing project of Chicago, Perry Brawley had been 
     accustomed to an environment permeated with violence, drug 
     trafficking and gang shoot-outs. But he had been excited 
     about the prospects of joining the Jesse White Tumblers, an 
     athletic performing group founded by a committed

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     legislator to help at-risk youths resist the lures of gangs 
     and drugs. Hope of one day becoming a Tumbler helped Perry to 
     resist the temptations that surrounded him. He followed that 
     dream and was one of the many young children in Cabrini who 
     spent their days practicing flips and jumps off discarded 
     mattresses that littered the project's yard.
       Perry's dream come true and Perry became a tumbler, 
     channeling his youthful energy into constructive activity. 34 
     and a responsible husband, father, and community leader, he 
     traces his success to his membership in the Tumblers, his 
     coach and relatives who provided consistent examples and firm 
     guidelines.
       Today, Perry recounts that saying ``no'' to gang membership 
     was not a simple decision but a continual process that 
     demanded personal strength and external support. He explains, 
     ``The gangs attack a community or a kid like a cancer attacks 
     a physical body, at any point of weakness. You have to be 
     100% strong in your commitment to stay out of the gang. If 
     you waver or have a moment of weakness, they'll swallow you 
     up.''
       The father of a ten-year-old son, Perry continues to live 
     and work in the Cabrini neighborhood, reaching out of youth 
     in the community and providing the opportunities, counseling, 
     and mentorship they need if they are to make responsible life 
     choices. Perry's service includes countless volunteer hours 
     in the church, school and the Tumblers which has proved 
     itself to be a life-salvaging oasis in the housing 
     development. Perry now serves as the assistant coach and his 
     son, Dejon, is also a Tumbler.
       The young athletes have performed during half-time for 
     numerous NBA and CBA games and recently appeared in the 
     presidential inaugural parade. Yet, in spite of the celebrity 
     the group has achieved. Perry continually reminds his young 
     proteges that ``Tumbling is a phase, but education is the key 
     to your future.'' All of the youths are required to present 
     their report cards to the coaches, and all Tumblers are 
     required to maintain passing grades, and to stay out of gangs 
     and away from drugs and alcohol. Perry explains, ``For many 
     of these kids, this is the first incentive they have ever had 
     to follow the rules and to accomplish goals. Before the 
     Tumblers, many of the kids felt that they had nothing to lose 
     so they would try anything. But now there was something they 
     wanted. They wanted to travel and be with their friends, to 
     feel that they are valuable. The Tumblers fill a desire to 
     belong and to have a `family.' And the kids are willing to 
     toe the line to have that.''


                     lucy esquibel, los angeles, ca

       Lucy Esquibel grew up in the William Mead public housing 
     development and was influenced by the drug trafficking, gang 
     activity and crime she saw everyday. As a teenager she became 
     heavily involved with a gang and rose quickly as a leader.
       But as Lucy grew older, she came to understand that gang 
     activity would ultimately be a destructive force in her life. 
     Eventually, she became the mother of eight children and, more 
     than ever, she felt a sense of responsibility and a desire to 
     provide her children a stable, secure environment and 
     prospects for the future. Rather than planning an escape from 
     the housing development, Lucy committed herself to 
     transforming William Mead to the kind of environment she 
     wanted for her children and her neighbor's children.
       For more than twenty years, Lucy's leadership skills, which 
     were once used to promulgate gang activity, have been used to 
     stimulate revitalization and development in her community. 
     From personal experience, Lucy knows that it is not enough to 
     tell young people to say no to gangs and drugs, and that it 
     is necessary to show them that opportunity and positive 
     alternatives exist for them and their families.
       Lucy has worked through William Mead's Resident Advisory 
     Council to establish links with outside resources to provide 
     services ranging from job training and placement, to youth 
     activities, to medical care. Largely due to her efforts, the 
     Boys & Girls Club and 4-H club now have offices in the 
     neighborhood, and a computer lab offers its youth new realms 
     of knowledge and information.
       Through a parent-support initiative, Lucy also provides 
     counsel and advice to single moms who are facing the 
     challenges of raising young children and teenagers. Living 
     within the community she serves, Lucy has firsthand 
     experience of the challenges that its residents face, but she 
     is also firmly convinced that resources exists so that 
     everyone who has the vision and desire to succeed can pursue 
     their dreams. Constantly seeking new avenues of opportunity, 
     Lucy has developed plans for several community businesses, 
     including a laundromat, a food co-op, and baby sitting that 
     residents entering the workforce will need. A humble 
     achiever, Lucy, explains, ``I think everyone deserves a 
     chance. I am what I am because someone gave me a chance and I 
     want to offer that opportunity to others.''


                              pete jackson

       Pete is the Deputy Warden of Programs for the D.C. 
     Department of Corrections. His duties include supervising 
     case managers, religious programs, recreation, academic and 
     vocational training. He began his career at the D.C. Dept. of 
     Corrections in 1988 as a Correctional Treatment Specialist. 
     He also acted in various positions thus demonstrating 
     exemplary ideas.
       Pete's first introduction to the criminal justice system 
     was as an inmate in the Lorton Youth Facility charged with 
     Armed Robbery. Pete attained a barbery license while there. 
     He was well known and liked by his peers and clientele.
       Upon release, he attended Clinton Jr. College and Federal 
     City College where he attained his Bachelors degree in 
     sociology, minoring in psychology.
       Pete has always been a community worker and humanitarian. 
     Pete is the President and a founder for The Alliance of 
     Concerned Men an organization that has obtained nation wide 
     attention with community based program, this program has been 
     featured in The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The 
     Washington Afro and Fox News. The Alliance Concerned Men were 
     also the official representative for the District of Columbia 
     at the Gang Conference in Kansas City, April 24, 1993.
       Pete has implemented and maintained great programs such as 
     the Beliefs, Value, Image and Fear (BVIF) Programs, which 
     teaches youth health attitudes and socially accepted value 
     systems, this programs works with hundreds of kids within the 
     DC community, shelter and group homes. Another program is the 
     Lorton Abridging Program, which teaches incarcerated fathers 
     that their parental responsibility is not relinquished 
     because they are imprisoned they are taught to stay in 
     contact, be a father and part of their community in a 
     positive light.
       A new program which is being implemented is the ``Prison 
     Adopt-A-Block Program'' in the District of Columbia, AMC's 
     goal is to adopt high crime blocks throughout Washington, 
     D.C., by ``matching'' a high crime neighborhood with 
     respected elements of the inmate population who have earned 
     the recognition of the prison population, received the 
     allegiance from the residents in the community and of those 
     criminals controlling high crime areas and who are able to 
     call a ``truce''.


                       omar jahwar, dallas, texas

       Through the consistent example and committed outreach of 
     Omar Jahwar, hundreds of young men have turned away from 
     lives of violence, crime, and substance abuse and are now 
     living productive lives with prospects for successful and 
     fulfilling futures. Omar's outreach, entitled ``Our Vision/
     Regeneration, Inc.'' combines spiritual awareness, internal 
     transformation, and practical opportunities and includes the 
     following projects:
       Operation Hope, which provides food, fills immediate 
     critical needs, and functions as a resource network for low-
     income residents of South Dallas.
       The Bond Program, for youths aged 6-12, which links young 
     people to mentors who expand their horizons and their sense 
     of self through various cultural and educational activities, 
     and,
       ``Regeneration'' a 12-week gang-intervention program for 
     youths aged 13 to 17, in which OGs (Old Gangsters) who have 
     won respect and trust of the younger members serve as 
     counselors.
       Perhaps the most powerful portrait of Omar and the impact 
     of his dedicated outreach is given in a firsthand account by 
     one youth whose life he transformed, Eric Reavis, who 
     nominated him for a 1997 Achievement Against the Odds Award. 
     In Eric's words:
       ``Omar had always been a leader, but before he changed, 
     that leadership was charged with hatred--hatred for other 
     gangs or another race. After he met a mentor who helped him 
     turn his life around, Mar's leadership skills and 
     intelligence were used towards positive goals, helping other 
     youths to make the change. Omar is incredibly powerful in 
     reaching young people--because he is young himself (only 23), 
     because he has personal charisma, and because he has 
     remarkable strength of spirit. He is honest and sincerely 
     committed and we recognize that right away.
       ``Omar helped us to understand how we could go beyond 
     boundaries of racial hatred, and he always urged us to 
     `surpass our normal abilities' and to `refuse to be 
     mediocre.' He introduced us to all sorts of reading and 
     philosophies and taught us that we could learn from everyone.
       ``Omar was continually there, believing in me, recognizing 
     the skills and talents I had, and he never gave up, even when 
     I slid back to old ways. Because of his commitment, I was 
     able to undergo my own transformation.''


                      jamie kelly, tampa, florida

       The daughter of a drug-addicted mother, Jamie grew up in a 
     environment plagued with violence and substance abuse. At the 
     age of 14, she left home for life in the streets where she 
     too fell into a lifestyle of drug addiction and the crime 
     that was necessary to feed that addiction. While in her 
     teens, Jamie became the mother of two children and when she 
     became pregnant with a third while addicted to cocaine, the 
     state authorities intervened and put her older children in 
     the custody of relatives. A family member adopted the new 
     baby. Believing she had nothing to lose, Jamie fell further 
     into a devastating downward spiral and was sent to prison for 
     dealing in stolen merchandise. While she was incarcerated, 
     Jamie underwent a transformation of heart and determined that 
     her children would have a better future. Upon her release, 
     Jamie enrolled in a technical school and graduated with a 4.0 
     average. She quickly found employment and, pregnant with her 
     fourth child, doubled her efforts to provide a decent life 
     for her family.
       In 1995, Jamie met and married Lee Earl Kelly, Jr., and 
     took a new job with the Corporation to Develop Communities 
     (CDC) of

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     Tampa, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bettering the 
     lives of East Tampa residents. She also began 500 hours of 
     sweat equity service with Habitat for Humanity, helping with 
     construction on various homes every Saturday for a year as a 
     ``down payment'' on a new four-bedroom home for her family.
       Jamie is now enrolled as half-time student at a local 
     community college and works full-time at the CDC as a Data 
     Specialist in the organization's Job & Education Placement 
     Center. Many of the individuals served through this center 
     have been referred by the local drug rehab facility, the 
     Department of Corrections and public housing, and with a 
     firsthand knowledge of the challenges they face, Jamie has 
     been exceptionally successful in inspiring them to pursue the 
     path to self sufficiency and employment.


                     Florence Ponziano, Austin, TX

       When Florence Ponziano first moved to the Montopolis area 
     three years ago, she decided to help beautify the community 
     and began single-handedly cleaning the local graveyard. Her 
     loving personality began attracting children who would help 
     her and come visit her house after school and on weekends, 
     where they would read together, she would cook them meals, 
     and give them guidance. One day she and the children decided 
     to name her home the Comfort House, as it served as a safe 
     ``home away from home.'' Many of the children who frequent 
     the Comfort House come from crack houses, families with a 
     parent who is not involved or at home due to drugs or alcohol 
     abuse, single parent families where a parent has to work 
     numerous jobs to make ends meet, and families where a parent 
     has AIDS and is physically unable to handle constant care of 
     the children. Florence cooks for the children after school 
     and on weekends--a time when many of them would otherwise not 
     eat. She washes their clothes so they are not traumatized by 
     going to school dirty, reads with them, helps them with their 
     homework, and serves as a positive role model. She uses a 
     large portion of the $430 a month she receives on food and 
     laundry detergent for the children's needs. Due to her 
     financial situation, Florence does not have a washer and 
     dryer in her home and does not own a car, so she puts all 
     their clothes in the back of a little red wagon and off they 
     go to the laundromat.
       One thing about Florence's work with the children which 
     especially touched me, besides her unconditional love for 
     them, is her goal to teach them to give back to the community 
     and instill in them a sense of responsibility for bettering 
     themselves and improving the lives of others in the 
     community. She and the children help paint houses, clean 
     yards, and even cook for the elderly and disabled in the 
     area, all free of charge. Many times she takes them on an 
     outing to pick up trash on the neighborhood lots. This 
     spreads her volunteerism and impacts and improves the entire 
     Montopolis community.
       Florence also allows children to stay at her home anytime 
     they need to. She often watches children for teen mothers who 
     are attending school or work and will not ask them for or 
     accept money from them. Florence's goal is to give the 
     children, youth and teen mothers a chance at a better life. 
     She emphasizes the importance of education, telling the 
     children ``reading and school are a joy.'' She also dedicates 
     her time and works with students at Allison Elementary 
     School.
       In the three short years she has lived in the community, 
     Florence through her determination and dedication has 
     developed a network of businesses who often donate items to 
     help her. She touches the lives of those she meets so much, 
     they are inspired to act. They can visibly see how she is 
     making a positive difference in the lives of the children, 
     youth, elderly, and the community in general. Within the last 
     year, many private individuals and businesses have donated 
     playground equipment, toys, food and money to help her with 
     the Comfort House.
       In addition to businesses and individuals, Florence also 
     works with the city and county officials to help elderly and 
     disabled community members get necessary repairs to their 
     homes completed. She even works with them to get the paint 
     donated which she and the children use to paint their homes.