[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 15, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1265]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     EVELYN ABELSON: POINT OF LIGHT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 15, 1999

  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate an extraordinary 
community activist, social worker, safety net administrator and public 
policy strategist. From micro issues involving school practices, 
neighborhood priorities, and area action plans to macro policy concerns 
and visions for improvements in City, State and Federal benefits 
programs, she has accumulated an inspiring record of achievements. On 
the occasion of her retirement I am honored to salute Evelyn Abelson as 
a Point-of-Light for our community and for all Americans.
  A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ms. Abelson came to Brooklyn 
with impressive training as a Social Worker and significant political 
experience. Her compassion for the poor and the powerless is great; and 
her passion for organizing people for their own empowerment is equally 
remarkable.
  Always the professional competence of Evelyn Abelson is thoroughly 
blended with her personal dedication and integrity. As Director of a 
Mental Health Program in Brownsville, a community composed primarily of 
low-income housing developments, she changed the lives of many 
individuals; however, her work with families and groups had a 
widespread and lasting impact on the entire community. The Abelson 
lectures on family relationships attracted a large grassroots audience.
  Through her work with individuals and the general community Ms. 
Abelson established a base of trust which made her a very influential 
and productive force in the embryonic Brownsville anti-poverty program. 
Evelyn convened the Brownsville Professional Group composed of a cross-
section of professionals who worked in the community. The blue-print 
for the Brownsville Community Action Plan was launched when this group 
convened a body of local leaders who formed the Brownsville Community 
Council.
  Mr. Speaker, as a local Branch Librarian of the Brooklyn Public 
Library and later as a Library Community Coordinator, I worked with Ms. 
Abelson to develop the Brownsville Total Action Plan which began with 
the election of a Board of Directors for the Brownsville Community 
Council. For that first election and for many others Ms. Abelson was a 
one woman Election Commission whose results were never challenged.
  Ms. Abelson later established a Community Mental Health Clinic in 
Brownsville. While her professional work expanded and provided greater 
support for many more families, she continued in her role as a guiding 
community activist and policy advisor. In my changing careers from 
Library Community Coordinator, to Brownsville Community Council 
Executive Director, to Commissioner of the New York City Community 
Action Program to New York State Senator and finally to the United 
States Congress I have steadfastly relied on Evelyn Abelson's unique 
ability to maintain one open ear for the voice of the people on the 
bottom while the other ear listened and interpreted the sweep of local, 
national and international developments.
  For this rare mixture of personal warmth, abiding compassion and 
generosity, as well as a penetrating mind anchored by experience and 
wisdom, it is appropriate that we honor Evelyn Abelson as a great 
American Point-of-Light.

                          ____________________