Dekalb county office of solicitor-general

DEKALB COUNTY

OFFICE OF SOLICITOR-GENERAL

DeKalb County Courthouse

556 North McDonough Street

Suite 500

Decatur, Georgia 30030-3356

(Decatur, Ga.) –DeKalb County Solicitor-General Sherry Boston has been named the 2014 recipient of the Deborah McDorman Flame Award. The award honors the memory of Ms. McDorman and her commitment to domestic violence victims. In the 1980s, McDorman established the not-for-profit DeKalb County Domestic Violence Task Force (DK DVTF), along with criminal justice professionals and community advocacy organizations, while she was Coordinator of the Victim/Witness Assistance Program at the DeKalb County Solicitor-General’s Office.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award in memory of Deborah McDorman because her work establishing the DeKalb County Domestic Violence Task Force has been instrumental in fighting domestic violence in our community,” said Solicitor-General Boston, “Since one in three women will become a victim of domestic violence, we must continue to do more to save lives.” On Thursday, October 23^rd, Solicitor-General Sherry Boston held her fourth annual resource fair and symposium, “Building Bridges, Making Connections: Coordinating a Community Response to Domestic Violence.” The event brings together community members, survivors and experts each year to educate the public and increase awareness about domestic violence. Ms. Boston oversees the prosecution of approximately 13,000 misdemeanor cases each year including more than 3,500 cases of domestic violence. She created a Special Victims Unit (SVU) to investigate and prosecute sensitive crimes including domestic violence and stalking.

“Until Sherry came along, Dekalb County did not have a community wide event that brought together faith based, community based organizations, government agencies and most importantly survivors to not only commemorate domestic violence awareness month but also engage in important dialogues in our community, “said Aparna Bhattacharyya, Executive Director of Raksha and past chair of the DeKalb County Domestic Violence Task Force, “Sherry came into office wanting to help and making sure her team was ready to help the task force in whatever way possible. Her office is responsive and is a true collaborative partner when it comes to working for the safety of survivors.”

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