[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 21553]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING CONCHY BRETOS

 Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, today I congratulate Ms. Conchy 
Bretos of Miami, FL, recipient of the 2006 Purpose Prize. This new 
national award was initiated this year by Civic Ventures, a nonprofit 
organization dedicated to generating ideas and programs to help society 
achieve the greatest return on the experience of older Americans.
  After a varied career in housing, marketing, health, women's issues 
and government, Conchy Bretos became committed to doing something about 
the thousands of low-income elders and disabled adults who were not 
getting the service they needed to stay in their homes.
  She became the driving force behind the Helen Sawyer building in 
Miami, the Nation's first public housing project to offer assisted-
living service. Her efforts have resulted in the creation of similar 
services in 40 public housing projects in a dozen States, allowing many 
older adults to maintain their independence while they receive the 
medical care they need.
  I want to recognize the role of the Purpose Prize itself in changing 
our society's view of aging. America's growing older population is one 
of our greatest untapped resources, and we need to do everything 
possible as a society to recognize the great contributions they can 
make.

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