[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 62 (Friday, April 27, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING CANDY O'DONEL-BROWNE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 27, 2012

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Candy O'Donel-Browne, a 
tireless advocate for victims of domestic abuse in California's San 
Joaquin Valley. As we observe National Crime Victims' Rights Week, this 
is a fitting time to honor Mrs. O'Donel-Browne. As a Co-Chair of the 
Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus, VRC, I was proud to nominate Mrs. 
O'Donel-Browne for the Ed Stout Memorial Award for Outstanding Victim 
Advocacy, one of five annual awards given by the VRC. Each year, the Ed 
Stout Award honors professionals or volunteers whose efforts directly 
benefit victims and survivors of crime. Mrs. O'Donel-Browne has spent 
her life doing just that.
  After seeing the lack of services for victims in our Valley's rural 
communities, Mrs. O'Donel-Browne and a few other concerned community 
members created Mountain Crisis Services, Inc., MCS, in Mariposa, 
California, in 1990. Since the beginning of MCS, she served as a 
dedicated and innovative board member and now serves as President of 
the Board of Directors. Though the work is challenging both physically 
and mentally, Mrs. O'Donel-Browne has shown exceptional creativity and 
flexibility, easily filling the role of Executive Director when needed. 
Due to her diligence and dedication, the life saving services offered 
by MCS never cease.
  In 2008, Mrs. O'Donel-Browne again noticed a void in victims' 
services in Merced County. After a sister agency was forced to close 
its doors, MCS opened a fully functioning office and shelter in only 
six weeks. When the agency finally shut down its services, the Valley 
Crisis Center stood at the ready to assist victims in Merced County. 
During this time, she often articulated the need to ensure that no 
victim should be left without services or access to safety.
  MCS has transformed from a single domestic violence agency with a 
staff of 12 to a dual domestic violence and rape crisis agency with a 
staff of 30, serving two counties with vastly different populations. 
Although this transition occurred in a time of economic recession and 
tight state and federal budgets, she surmounted the odds and did so 
with professionalism, passion and grace.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great appreciation that I ask my colleagues 
to stand with me in thanking Mrs. Candy O'Donel-Browne for her devotion 
to the domestic violence movement and to the victims she so faithfully 
serves. Please join me today in recognizing her remarkable achievements 
and wish her and the communities she serves many more years of success.

                          ____________________