SLS 19RS-302 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 31
BY SENATOR MORRELL
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Mary Claire Landry upon receipt of the Lifetime
Achievement Award from the Alliance for HOPE International.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Mary Claire Landry, founder and Executive Director of the New Orleans
3 Family Justice Alliance, upon her receipt of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement
4 Award from Alliance for HOPE International.
5 WHEREAS, at this time the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana wishes to
6 acknowledge the outstanding leadership of Mary Claire Landry, who has worked tirelessly
7 to improve the availability of services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, in the United States, according to survey data, one in six females will
10 suffer some kind of sexual violence induced by an intimate partner during the course of her
11 lifetime; and
12 WHEREAS, Ms. Landry is determined to reduce those statistics and create better
13 outcomes for victims of abuse through empowerment and education; and
14 WHEREAS, as a licensed clinical social worker with a master's degree in social work
15 from Tulane University and a master's degree in business administration from the University
16 of New Orleans, Mary Claire Landry is a relentless crusader for the rights and services
17 afforded survivors of domestic violence; and
18 WHEREAS, Mary Claire Landry coordinates local agencies, criminal justice, and
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SLS 19RS-302 ORIGINAL
1 social services into an effective delivery system of alternatives for those individuals who
2 have been subjected to domestic violence, child abuse, stalking, human trafficking, and
3 sexual assault; and
4 WHEREAS, named Director of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services
5 within Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans; she led the revival of the
6 domestic abuse program in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005; and
7 WHEREAS, she directed efforts to restore services, and under her guidance, Crescent
8 House was revived as a haven for domestic abuse victims; the shelter was coupled with the
9 establishment of an onsite office of the Domestic Violence Unit of the New Orleans Police
10 Department; and
11 WHEREAS, Mary Claire Landry secured much needed federal funding from the
12 Office on Violence Against Women of the United States Department of Justice to keep the
13 operation going during this turbulent period; and
14 WHEREAS, this integration of agencies was the blueprint for a new system of
15 coordinated services to aid victims of domestic violence that would later become the
16 New Orleans Family Justice Center in 2007; and
17 WHEREAS, in 2012, the organization morphed into the New Orleans Family Justice
18 Center Alliance which had separated from Catholic Charities to emerge as a new agency that
19 was comprised of a partnership of nine public and private agencies in one central location
20 to provide a consolidated community response to domestic violence cases; and
21 WHEREAS, along with community and criminal justice stakeholders, the
22 New Orleans Family Justice Center Alliance has been on the forefront of updating local
23 protocols, improving laws, addressing needs, and refining services that empower survivors;
24 and
25 WHEREAS, these comprehensive services include a 24-hour crisis line, emergency
26 housing, trauma counseling for adults and children, civil legal assistance, temporary
27 restraining order assistance, transitional housing, education and employment services, and
28 teen dating violence prevention services; and
29 WHEREAS, in 2006, Mary Claire Landry also served as president of the Louisiana
30 Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a statewide affiliation of shelters, nonresidential
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1 programs, and individuals working to end domestic violence in the state; and
2 WHEREAS, inducted into the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame, Mary Claire was
3 recognized as an innovator who made a positive impact on the criminal justice system in the
4 state; and
5 WHEREAS, on the 20th anniversary of the passage of the federal Violence Against
6 Women Act (VAWA), Mary Claire Landry was honored with a presentation by Vice
7 President Joe Biden, who, as a United States senator, authored the landmark legislation that
8 made domestic abuse an enforceable offense; and
9 WHEREAS, in March 2019, Mary Claire Landry received the Lifetime Achievement
10 Award from Alliance for HOPE International at the 19th Annual International Family Justice
11 Center Conference in San Diego, California; praised by her peers, "that she is one of the
12 most transformational leaders in the history of the domestic and sexual assault movements
13 in Louisiana, but her reach goes far beyond the city of New Orleans and the state of
14 Louisiana, Mary Claire Landry has inspired Family Justice Centers across the United States
15 and around the world"; and
16 WHEREAS, for Mary Claire Landry, the breadth of her work includes the creation
17 of new pathways of hope for victims of trauma and abuse and positive efforts to break the
18 generational cycles of victims and perpetrators; and
19 WHEREAS, Camp HOPE America - Louisiana is a sleep away camp experience and
20 mentoring program for youth exposed to abusive situations; it provides confidence-building
21 activities and counseling for children and teenagers; and
22 WHEREAS, Mary Claire Landry undertakes the social complexities of domestic
23 violence that include the infrastructure of training on the neurobiology of trauma and the
24 science of hope, investigation and prosecution strategies, effective Family Justice Center
25 procedures, and those programs, services, and practices designed to mitigate trauma in adult
26 and child survivors; and
27 WHEREAS, Mary Claire Landry is relentless, passionate, and totally inspirational;
28 she is a champion of those affected by domestic violence and sexual abuse in Orleans Parish.
29 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
30 does hereby commend Mary Claire Landry upon her receipt of the Lifetime Achievement
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1 Award from the Alliance for HOPE International.
2 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
3 hereby acknowledge the good works of Mary Claire Landry and wish her continued success
4 in her mission to aid and empower survivors of domestic abuse.
5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
6 Mary Claire Landry.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Suzi Montague.
DIGEST
SR 31 Original 2019 Regular Session Morrell
Commends Mary Claire Landry of New Orleans upon receipt of the Lifetime Achievement
Award from the Alliance for HOPE International.
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