FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 2, 2002
VIOLENCE PREVENTION LEADERS RECEIVE
THE 2002 CALIFORNIA PEACE PRIZE AWARD
Joseph A. Myers, Raja Rahim and Wayne Sakamoto
Are Awarded
$25,000 Each for Their Violence Prevention Work
San Francisco - The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) presented its tenth annual California Peace Prize Award to three violence-prevention advocates. The honorees are Joseph A. Myers of Petaluma, Raja Rahim of San Francisco and Wayne Sakamoto of San Diego. Each received a $25,000 grant in recognition of their work and achievements at a ceremony in San Francisco on Friday, December 6.
"This year's awardees recognize that violence can be prevented through hard
work and commitment," said Gary L. Yates, TCWF president and CEO. "The
California Peace Prize recognizes their tireless work and ability to prevent
violence to ensure healthy futures for all Californians."
Each of this year's awardees has influenced hundreds of lives through their
bridge-building strategies and innovations. Myers, working through the National
Indian Justice Center (NIJC), provides legal education and technical assistance
to tribal governments to address issues outside state jurisdiction. Rahim, who
is a survivor of domestic violence and abuse, brings together multiple,
service-providing systems to better serve families through a national
initiative, the Greenbook Project. Sakamoto, working with the San Diego County
Department of Education, responds to the violence prevention needs of
communities by implementing conflict resolution and gang prevention programs
within schools.
Joseph A. Myers
A member of the Pinoleville Band of Pomo Indians, Myers grew up in Mendocino
County on the Pinoleville reservation. He attended local schools and later
served as an officer for the Oakland Police Department and the California
Highway Patrol before earning a law degree from the University of California at
Berkeley in 1975.
After graduating from law school, Myers took a position with the American
Indian Lawyer Training Program, a national training and technical assistance
program in Oakland for tribal governments. A commitment to improving and
professionalizing the tribal court system, the judicial institutions of tribal
government mostly located in Indian reservations, still inspires Myers today, as
he heads the NIJC, an organization he helped create. NIJC offers technical
assistance to tribal governments and delivers monthly training sessions around
the country on legal topics that include criminal procedure, Indian housing law,
juvenile justice, domestic violence, and other areas of concern.
"Violence in Native American communities is on the rise," Myers said. "The
mission of NJIC is to help Native Americans improve their communities and reduce
violence by developing the tribal court systems and providing equal justice at
the reservation level."
NIJC will soon launch the Regional Justice Center. The Center will teach
youth, ages 14 to 21, about laws that affect them and provide computer and
job-skills training.
Myers also dedicates his time to the California Indian Museum and Cultural
Center in Santa Rosa, which focuses attention on historical and contemporary
issues of racism and diversity through lectures, storytelling and
demonstrations. Myers hopes the museum will help debunk stereotypes of Native
Americans and inspire youth to think positively about differences and diversity.
Raja Rahim
As a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault, Rahim knows firsthand the
enduring impacts that such violence has on women, children and families. She
draws upon her personal experience to counsel and reach out to families in San
Francisco.
Her work spans more than 10 years and includes volunteering for numerous
organizations, including W.O.M.A.N. Inc., San Francisco Women Against Rape, and
Mu'akhah, a newly formed Islamic social service organization focusing on
families, women and children. Rahim also served as an outreach worker for the
San Francisco Neighborhood Safety Partnerships project, where she brought
together community members and police to address public safety and violence.
Recently, Rahim joined the staff of the Greenbook Project, a national initiative
being tested in San Francisco to address the intersection of child welfare,
courts and domestic violence. The new position builds upon the trust she has
earned from the communities she serves, the respect she has garnered from the
governmental agencies most frequently involved in domestic abuse, and the wisdom
she has culled from personal experiences.
"Everyone has a part," Rahim said. "Everyone is connected to the family. The
systems need to communicate with one another so things can change. Domestic
violence crosses all lines and doing work to prevent it means crossing all
lines."
Rahim has also contributed considerable time to creating a common
understanding of the needs of domestic violence victims among people with
religious beliefs. As a Muslim, she has helped clarify common misunderstandings
of Islam regarding women. She assisted in the organization of the first
interfaith conference on domestic violence in 1999 and shortly thereafter
organized a series of dialogues at the San Francisco Muslim community center on
domestic violence.
With the spare time she has, Rahim sings with a jazz quartet, writes about
her life and acts in plays with a local alternative theater group, Soapstone
Productions.
Wayne Sakamoto
Sakamoto's 15-year commitment to violence prevention stems from the challenges
he faced as a third-generation, Japanese-American growing up in a rural
community. The son of two internment camp detainees, Sakamoto learned early the
consequences of hatred and bigotry. In his violence-prevention work, he battles
what he sees as one cause of violence: hate.
Sakamoto was instrumental in developing and implementing a nationally
recognized program, Project COURAGE (Community Organizations United to Reduce
the Area's Gang Environment), which began in Riverside and trains community
members and college students to provide prevention and intervention programming
in their communities. The program has served thousands of youth since its
inception in 1989 and is still running today. In his current role as the
coordinator for the San Diego County Office of Education Safe Schools Unit,
Sakamoto designs and implements violence prevention programs for school
districts with both small- and large-scale needs. He has developed the Violence
Prevention/Intervention Team and has assisted in the implementation of Foster
Youth Services, School Community Policing and the Gang Risk Intervention
Program. Believing that youth must be partners in the effort to prevent
violence, Sakamoto frequently incorporates leadership training in his programs.
"We are all, including youth, involved in creating positive outcomes for
young people," Sakamoto said. "We are all part of the solution. As program
people, the best that we can hope for is to instill hope in kids."
Having provided support in the aftermath of the Santana High School shooting,
Sakamoto emphasizes that school violence, while carried out on a school campus,
is really an issue of community violence. This belief guides the design of his
programs, which reach out to include both family and community.
Myers, Rahim, and Sakamoto will be joined by TCWF staff and grantees of the
Foundation's Violence Prevention Initiative at the San Francisco ceremony.
"Each of these leaders, without expecting any reward, has worked tirelessly
to prevent violence and improve the lives of thousands of Californians," said
Sandra J. Martínez, TCWF program director for the Violence Prevention priority
area. "These three leaders help people develop the tools needed to solve
problems, avoid violence and create safer communities."
The California Wellness Foundation is an independent, private foundation created in 1992,
with a mission to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health
promotion, wellness education and disease prevention. The Foundation provides funding in eight
priority areas: Diversity in the Health Professions, Environmental Health, Healthy Aging,
Mental Health, Teenage Pregnancy Prevention, Violence Prevention, Women's Health, and Work
and Health. It also provides funding for other health issues through its Special Projects
Fund. Since its first year of operation, TCWF has awarded 3,133 grants totaling more than $399.9 million. It is one of the state's largest private foundations, making an average of $40 million in grants each year in pursuit of its mission.
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Note to reporters & editors: "The" in The California Wellness Foundation name
is part of the Foundation's legal name. Please do not drop or lowercase the "T."
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