COLUMBUS — With nearly 1,000 attendees on hand, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost Tuesday afternoon presented three statewide awards during the second day of the 2023 Two Days in May Conference on Victim Assistance, held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

During his opening remarks, AG Yost talked about the underlying message of this year’s conference theme, “Empowering Survivors to Rebuild Lives.”

“This might be the most special thing that each of you do – helping victims to believe that there’s life after tragedy, that there can be recovery after devastation,” Yost told the victim advocates and others who attended. “Because everything depends ultimately on that victim’s will to survive what has happened to them, to become a survivor.”

Two Days in May, marking its 31st year, annually brings advocates together to share best practices, trends and developments in the field. This year’s event included two keynote speakers – one each day – and more than 75 expert presenters from throughout Ohio.

The conference also honors a few peer-nominated groups and individuals who are doing exceptional work.

This year’s winners are:

Promising Practice Award: New Leaf Justice Enterprises

Individuals and their families impacted by trauma, substance use or incarceration are often uprooted from their community and support networks. New Leaf re-establishes these connections through a wide range of long-term holistic services that help break the cycle of poverty that grips many residents of Appalachian Ohio. As part of its “Promising Practice” model, New Leaf built a “recovery village” in the Athens County town of Nelsonville so that clients who need assistance may access child care, employment and housing all within a 10-minute walk. New Leaf is an initiative of the Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program, with both led by Executive Director Jen Seifert. The agency, which serves nine southeastern Ohio counties, is supported in part through the Rape Crisis Fund and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding awarded through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Special Courage Award: Brenda Glass, founder and executive director of the Brenda Glass Multipurpose Trauma Recovery Center

Founded in 2018, the faith-based Brenda Glass center is recognized as one of the leading trauma recovery centers in the nation. The center supports Cuyahoga County residents impacted by crime, violence or sexual assault, and provides an array of services, including mental-health counseling, spiritual counseling, case management, and a safe-shelter program that houses crime victims as they heal and rebuild their lives. The center also helps victims relocate to safe permanent housing. Glass’ dedication to survivors extends to the boards and committees on which she serves. In a show of her “Special Courage,” Glass cashed in her personal 401k savings during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide the funding needed to keep the center’s housing program running. As a member of the steering committee of the National Alliance of Trauma Recovery Centers, Glass also mentors other center directors, counselors and staff members, and helps to develop standards of practice addressing trauma among people of color.

Robert Denton Special Achievement Award: David L. Voth, former executive director, Crime Victim Services

From 1985 until his retirement in 2022, Voth led Crime Victim Services, an independent nonprofit agency in Allen and Putnam counties dedicated to protecting the rights of crime victims, advocating for abused and neglected children and vulnerable adults, and prioritizing accessible services. Voth’s 37 years of leadership helped to define best practices in the field and to effect important changes in state law. In 2010, he published the manual “Quality Victim Advocacy: A Field Guide,” which was initially intended for his staff only but has since become a recognized standard in the profession. Voth also was instrumental in the passage in 2017 of Marsy’s Law. Long before he testified before the Ohio legislature in the run-up to the vote on the legislation establishing Marsy’s Law, he was recognized as a leading advocate of victims’ rights to be informed, present and heard during court proceedings. Voth was also – unknowingly at the time – an originator of the Two Days in May Conference when he pitched the idea of a two-day gathering at the Attorney General’s Office in the early 1990s. The office, which at that time was offering grant funds to providers of victim services, decided to turn Voth’s idea into the conference, which has since been presented annually for more than three decades.