Days of Dialogue &
16th Annual
Peacemaker Awards

Congratulations, 2003 Peacemakers

Awards were given at the 15th Annual Peacemaker Dinner on March 28, 2003, to four outstanding examples of collaborative problem solving and violence prevention in the San Diego region:

San Diego City Attorney Casey Gwinn, and Police Chief David Bejarano for founding the Family Justice Center, the first facility in the country to streamline the delivery of aid and expertise to domestic violence victims by housing 100 domestic violence professionals under one roof. Launched in September, the center at 707 Broadway includes the entire Domestic Violence Units of both the Police Department and the City Attorney's Office, as well as in-house and community based advocates, other government agencies, nonprofit domestic violence and sexual assault professionals, and medical professionals and volunteers.

Gary and Jerri Ann Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute, for promoting intercultural dialogue and understanding among teens from the San Diego Jewish community and their peers in Israel, both Jewish and Arab. Groups from both countries study and travel together in Spain and Israel to explore their common heritage and gain greater insights into cultural similarities and differences.

Writer's Block Program at Market Creek Plaza, Roque Barros and Brian Lagermann, directors, for channeling the creative energies of neighborhood teens from graffiti to graphics. With funding and space provided by the Jacobs Family Foundation* and the Jacobs Center for Non Profit Innovation*, students learn art history, drawing, and graphic techniques and are given the opportunity to create products for sale through the Writer's Block graphics business.

City of San Diego Community and Economic Development Department, Peter Janopaul and Anthony Block, Bosa Development, Centre City Development Corporation, and YWCA of San Diego County for their leadership roles in paving the way for opening the Cortez Hill Family Center, a year-round transitional housing facility for homeless families. Overcoming "NIMBYism" and stereotypes about homelessness, Cortez Hill residents and developers cooperated with government and non-profit agencies to turn a former Days Inn motel into an innovative nationwide model of affordable housing for families working their way back from homelessness.

*Coincidentally, two different Jacobs families are represented this year. The Writer's Block Program is affiliated with Joseph and Violet Jacobs and their daughters Meg, Linda, and Valerie. The International Teen Leadership Institute is sponsored by Gary and Jerri Ann Jacobs.