Meg Garvin Receives National Leadership Award
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Founded in 1978, Parents of Murdered Children is a national organization providing emotional support and assistance to all survivors of homicide victims as well as education, prevention, advocacy, and awareness. Through the years NCVLI has partnered with POMC at both the national and local levels to fight for victims’ rights. Through all of this work we have witnessed the strength and grace of the families and friends of murder victims and been inspired. So it was truly heartwarming to have our Executive Director, Meg Garvin, honored last month with POMC’s John W. Gillis Leadership Award.
When asked about the award Director Meg Garvin said, “When Dan Levey, President of POMC, notified me of the award I was speechless.” Noting that more often than not she believes she receives more than she gives in this fight for victims’ rights, she went on to say, “so learning that the community believes that I and NCVLI have contributed in any small way to their path of surviving is truly humbling.”
Established in 2008, the award recognizes outstanding leadership in the fight for justice and due process for survivors of homicide and for all crime victims. It is named for John W. Gillis whose daughter Louarna was murdered in 1979 when he was a Los Angeles Police Officer. Following her murder John went on to lead the fight for victims’ rights across the country from being a founding member of Justice for Homicide Victims and the Coalition of Victims Equal Rights to being nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in September, 2001 to be the National Director of the U. S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime.
Meg Garvin was particularly moved to receive this award that is named for John Gillis stating, “John is a person I have spent my career admiring and trying to emulate, so it was utterly overwhelming to receive an honor named for him and to have him accept it on my behalf.”
All of us at NCVLI know that too often homicide survivors are left without a voice as their loved ones’ names, lives and stories are taken over by the system. We are committed to changing this. We are devoted to ensuring that our communities remember each homicide victim as wonderful, unique human beings, and to ensuring that the system listens to their families.