Rosemarie Freeland, Coordinator of Greenfield Community College's Women's Resource Center was honored for the crucial role she has played to empower survivors of domestic and sexual violence by the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition (NELCWIT).  Others honored included representatives of human services and legal assistance programs, community volunteers, and others.

Cheryl Rogers, NELCWIT's executive director, described Ms. Freeland's work as follows:

"Rosemarie has offered over 15 years of leadership and advocacy on behalf of domestic and sexual assault survivors.  She has worked tirelessly to support women of all ages return to school and reach their career goals at Greenfield Community College and neighboring universities. She is a zealous advocate on behalf of women returning back to school and who have experience trauma or need support to safely leave an abusive relationship. She continuously looks for solutions for women, empowering them and honoring their resilience and potential.  Over the years, Rosemarie has been a community organizer around economic justice and welfare rights, leading the community discussion and engaging others in social change. NELCWIT is grateful for her leadership and compassion and value our working relationship with the WRC."

According to Ms. Rogers, "This first-time gathering gave us an opportunity to tell our allies in the community how appreciative NELCWIT is of their hard work and commitment. All have gone out of their way to collaborate in our mutual work to help survivors to stay safe. It was an honor to thank our friends and supporters for being part of the solution to end violence, create peaceful communities, and build the future we want to leave to our children."

The event also included information about NELCWIT's vision of prevention and the roles men and young boys can play in addressing violence against women and girls, and within their communities.

For more information on how you can support NELCWIT, including a list of honorees, please visit NELCWIT's website, www.nelcwit.org.

Contact: Cheryl Rogers, Executive Director, 413-772-0871 x106,