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WHEREAS, Denise Zellous, who resides in Elliott, was chosen as one of 47 local Jefferson Award of Public Service winners for the year 2012 and is one of six finalists for Most Outstanding Volunteer. Ms. Zellous resides in Elliott and is the mother of five children, one of whom was murdered in 2006 while on his way to work, and has nine grandchildren; and,
WHEREAS, as a young child, Ms. Zellous was a victim of abuse and began using drugs at the age of 14 and continued with alcohol and drug addiction into her adulthood which led her to be incarcerated six times, homeless and estranged from her family; on April 29, 2000, Ms. Zellous became the first enrollee at the early recovery program at Bethlehem Haven and has not relapsed since; and,
WHEREAS, in the year 2000 she became reunited with her family and in 2010 she was awarded a Plaque of Recognition at the 2nd Annual Women Rock event which is given to recognize women who has succeeded against the odds; in 2011, she was selected as a delegate to represent Dress for Success Pittsburgh (DFS) at the DFS Worldwide Success Summit; and,
WHEREAS, in partnership with DFS, Ms. Zellous founded the HOPE Project which stands for Helping Others Promoting Empowerment in which women of the Bethlehem Haven Transitional Housing Program received household items and hygiene products to help in the transition from homelessness to permanent housing; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend Denise Zellous for beating the odds and giving back to her community; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Tuesday, April 23, 2013, to be "Denise Zellous Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.