Newman earns public service award

Published May 21, 2015
By Susan Griggs
81st Training Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Barry Newman of Keesler's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office was recently presented the Gulf Coast Women's Center for Nonviolence Public Service Award at the agency's annual awards ceremony.

Newman, a sexual assault victim advocate, came to Keesler more than nine years ago after retiring from the Navy as a chief petty officer.

"Barry has been our knight in shining armor, helping to move clients and their belongings, helping out with holiday gift pick-ups and wrapping, even once opening a jar with his big strong muscles," explained Stephanie Piper, the center's sexual assault prevention and response coordinator. "He's passionate about his work and consistently goes beyond the call of duty and the constraints of a simple job description."

Newman said he's humbled and flattered to be recognized for his efforts and accepted the award on behalf of his Keesler teammates, Debbie Wheeler and Chris McGill, and a network of volunteer victim advocates across the base.

Wheeler, the base's SAPR program manager, remarked, "Barry has exceptional abilities - his compassion for others, his nonjudgmental manner and his commitment to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves."

"Often our work can be a very dark world, but Barry brings a breath of light with his ability to make people feel relaxed and safe through humor," McGill emphasized. "I have witnessed firsthand his empathetic listening. He also does an excellent job sharing his knowledge about the Air Force's SAPR program with individuals who at a moment in their lives may not always comprehend what is being offered."

"We have a good relationship with the center," Newman commented. "We get invited to their training and special events and we invite them to ours. We've been asked to train their staff and we've asked them to come here and train us, our victim advocates and our teal rope liaisons in the 81st Training Group."

He pointed out that Team Keesler has supported the center in many ways over the years through donations for victim comfort bags for local emergency rooms, supporting their Christmas Angel program, and helping with special events. Keesler's teal rope student volunteers have given more than $5,000 to the center through several fundraising events to support the center's efforts to help victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking.

"It's rewarding to see a victim who comes to us for help after a very traumatic and potentially life-changing situation able to grow and emerge as a much stronger person after getting the help they need to heal," he commented. "Even the small moments are rewarding when you can tell that by your words, you've made a connection for change in someone's thinking."
The challenges of the job, according to Newman, involve "trying to reshape, reframe or readdress a cultural mindset and cultural norms about sexual violence and getting people to recognize those influences."

In spite of those challenges, "I see hope every day for a brighter and better tomorrow with the men and women I meet and talk to - especially our Airmen," he added. "They keep me coming back day after day."

"We are always recruiting people with the 'right stuff' to be volunteer victim advocates," Newman said. "If someone is interested, give us a call at 228-377-8635 or send us an e-mail and we'll help them start the process. We recognize that this isn't a volunteer opportunity for everyone, but it can be a very rewarding experience to help others during an extremely difficult time. We've got a great team here at Keesler and we want to help."