Cover Story

Awardees Reflect the Diversity of California's Efforts to Prevent Violence

Where It All Began

Shortly after TCWF was established in 1992, violence prevention emerged as an area of interest and the 10-year Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI) was launched. From the beginning, the Initiative contained a leadership component that included an award that would become known as the California Peace Prize. Gary Yates, then a senior program officer with TCWF, helped to conceive the award.

"From the initial honorees through to the most recent recipients, the California Peace Prize has recognized truly outstanding individuals," Yates said. "Their achievements are remarkable. They are representative of the efforts of dedicated activists in every community who refuse to remain idle while violence claims the lives of those around them."

In December 2002, at the final VPI conference in San Francisco, Portfolio writers had a chance to talk with a number of past CPP honorees about the impact of the award on their violence prevention work.

Lorna Hawkins of Lynwood, honored in 1993 and one of the CPP's first recipients, recalled what it felt like to receive the award.

"I was so happy," she said. "Knowing I could continue doing this work and that someone noticed. It wasn't in vain."

Hawkins, a mother who lost two sons to gun violence, wanted to create a means for other victims to speak out, express their grief and anger, and mobilize a community response. She began producing "Drive By Agony," a local cable television program, in the late 1980s. The cash award that accompanied the California Peace Prize allowed her to continue to work on the program as well as on other community-based prevention efforts.

30 Awardees

The CPP honorees reflect the diversity of California and the sad truth that no community is immune from the effects of violence. Recipients have come from small towns like Visalia and Santa Rosa, as well as from large metropolitan areas in Northern and Southern California. Some are professionals from fields including education and health care, two are from the clergy, and others are volunteers who have dedicated countless hours to building community-based organizations that address violence in their own communities. One characteristic, however, is shared by all: each is an unsung hero to those around them, working tirelessly without expectation of recognition.