[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 140 (Thursday, October 9, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRATULATIONS TO GAIL A. HOFFMAN FOR HELPING TO BUILD A BETTER 
                                ATLANTA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 9, 1997

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to announce that Gail 
A. Hoffman, a resident of Georgia's Fifth Congressional District, once 
again has been recognized for her work to improve communities in 
Atlanta. The National Crime Prevention Council and Ameritech have 
selected Ms. Hoffman to receive the Ameritech Award of Excellence in 
Crime Prevention. Ms. Hoffman's efforts to work with troubled 
communities and to bring individuals from all walks of life together 
makes her worthy of this acknowledgment.
  Ms. Hoffman is the president and executive director of the Bridging 
the Gaps project. BTG is a nonprofit organization with a mission to 
empower ethnically diverse communities, public and private 
organizations, and law enforcement with the ability to improve the 
quality of life for Georgia's refugee and immigrant communities.
  BTG was created in 1987, after Ms. Hoffman and then Detective M.C. 
Cox began convening meetings with the Multicultural Crime Task Force to 
help confront increasing gang activity in the Asian community. Through 
these meetings, Ms. Hoffman recognized that, because of cultural 
differences and communication barriers, non-English speaking people 
feared the police and felt unsafe because they believe that they are 
not protected from crime. As a result, Ms. Hoffman developed BTG and 
several related projects.
  To help bridge the cultural divide, BTG created a computerized 
language bank that contains the names of bilingual officers and 
civilians interested in translating for public safety officers and the 
courts. Law enforcement training courses, including language specific 
classes and community education programs, have helped eliminate 
communication barriers and cultural stereotypes among non-English 
speaking people and public safety officers. BTG has published a 
``Personal and Home Safety Orientation Manual for Refugees and 
Immigrants'' manual in 11 different languages.
  BTG also has convened approximately 120 meetings between public 
safety officials and ethnic communities. The project provides homework 
assistance, peer counseling, and English as a second language 
assistance to Southeast Asian youth who are vulnerable to gang 
recruitment activities. BTG provides youth support groups in five 
counties to assist over 150 refugees make positive life choices.
  States throughout the country are interested in creating similar 
programs like BTG. Thanks to Ms. Hoffman's problem solving and 
leadership, better communication and understanding exist among 
Atlanta's diverse ethnic groups.
  I thank Ms. Hoffman for the hard work and dedication that allowed her 
to earn the Ameritech Awards of Excellence in Crime Prevention. I 
applaud the National Crime Prevention Council's dedication to helping 
individuals fight crime and build community. I appreciate Ameritech's 
commitment to supporting crime prevention initiatives. I ask my 
Colleagues to join me in congratulating Gail Hoffman and other hard-
working individuals who make a difference in their communities.

                          ____________________