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Boston Mayor Marty Walsh calls the honorees’ service
examples of “selflessly working to better their neighborhoods”
BOSTON — Boston resident Jannie Gibbs, a retired health educator and outreach professional, has been named one of four recipients of Mothers for Justice and Equality’s “Courage and Conviction Award,” an honor given to those whose extraordinary community work has come after standing firm in the presence of pain or tragedy to become positive change agents within their Boston and Greater Boston neighborhoods, organizers said.
In addition to her work over the years at Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, an organization providing world-class clinical care in a safe and compassionate patient-centered healing environment, she is an active member of her community. Gibbs, who has lost a son to senseless street violence, has been active with the Franklin Field Housing Association, Harvard School of Public Health, Health Center Moran Youth Program, The Peace Institute and Project Free, to name a few.
“Jannie is an extraordinary example of the untold story of the powerful work that comes from women after losing someone so precious,” said Monalisa Smith, Founder and President of Mother’s for Justice and Equality. “MJE is honored to name Jannie a recipient of the 2018 Courage and Conviction Award for her outstanding commitment to helping others.”
As part of this recognition, Gibbs joined the three other Courage and Conviction Award honorees, two Community Excellence Award honorees and approximately 200 guests aboard the Spirit of Boston on June 9, 2018 for dining, dancing and celebration. The event is a catalyst for the annual Mother’s Against Violence National Leadership Conference that is held every fall in Boston.
“This year's award winners represent the impact one individual can have in creating a profound and positive change within their communities,” said City of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. “The Courage and Conviction Award recipients have gone above and beyond, selflessly working to better their neighborhoods. I applaud them for their efforts, and thank Mothers for Justice and Equality for recognizing these individuals for their important contributions to our city.”
For more information on Mothers for Justice and Equality, please visit mothersforjusticeandequality.org.
About Mothers for Justice and Equality
Mothers for Justice and Equality was founded in Boston in 2010 by Smith and other mothers who had lost family members to violence. Today, more than 500 members come to MJE’s “kitchen table,” an office space in Roxbury, Massachusetts, where neighborhood mothers receive tools to become community leaders. In the last several years, the organization has provided a variety of innovative initiatives to work toward ending community violence, including:
Events and discussions that have featured political leaders ranging from former Governor Deval Patrick to most recently, a 3rd annual mothers against violence national conference that featured City of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh;
“You Matter: Personal Leadership Training,” a youth peer leadership program and a workforce readiness initiative;
Financial literacy curriculum to inmates at the Suffolk County House of Corrections to address the needs of young adult inmates coming back into the community;
Training to new Boston Police Cadets and Boston EMTs to prepare them when facing individuals dealing with trauma;
Voter engagement drives;
Parent/Police Partnership advisory group;
Being recognized as a Department of Transitional Assistance work service site;
Becoming an approved provider of services for the Boston Public Schools;
Receiving a $30,000 grant from The Boston Foundation’s StreetSafe Program, allowing the organization to make changes including the passage of an ordinance to restrict selling knives to minors; and
Running dozens of billboards across Boston in an awareness campaign that depicted young victims of homicide with the group’s motto: “It’s not OK.”
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Note: These interviews and press releases were created in partnership with Mothers for Justice and Equality in the spirit of The Good News Experiment, an initiative that highlights individuals’ extraordinary community work.