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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE REMARKABLE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF MS. SHIRLEY CAYLOR
______
HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, it is with great admiration and respect
that I stand before you today to honor Ms. Shirley Caylor and to wish
her well upon her retirement. For her lifetime of inspiring service to
those most in need, she is worthy of the highest praise. Throughout her
noteworthy and important career, Shirley's compassionate work has been
a beacon of hope for the community of Northwest Indiana and beyond.
In 1971, Shirley Caylor and her late husband, Reverend Capp, founded
the Youth Crisis Center, which later became ``Crisis Center, Inc., a
Youth Service Bureau.'' The organization began as a youth-based crisis
and suicide hotline and remains active today, operating as part of the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This hotline has helped thousands
of people during its forty-five years of operation and was where
Shirley began her lifetime of service.
Under the outstanding leadership of Shirley and Reverend Capp, the
Crisis Center continued to grow and expand its services and programs.
In 1974, they added a community counseling center, and in 1976,
Alternative House, a short-term shelter for homeless, abused, or
neglected youth was established. The Crisis Center also added the Teen
Court program to its growing list of services in 1989. This innovative
intervention program works to assist teenagers who have been brought
into the juvenile detention system by allowing them to serve as jurors.
Later, in 2016, Ms. Caylor opened Promises, the Crisis Center's first
long-term care residential program for teenagers. Additionally, Ms.
Caylor and Reverend Capp worked tirelessly to ensure that the National
Safe Place program was available to Lake and Porter County residents
through the Crisis Center, as well as to the Hoosiers statewide through
the Indiana Youth Services Association. This program provides easy
access to emergency shelter, counseling, and other types of assistance.
Today, the Crisis Center's Safe Place program includes three hundred
and seventy-six safe place locations.
I respect Shirley Caylor with all my heart. In the truest sense of
the word, she is a servant of all, but especially of the most
vulnerable. When one reads Isaiah 58:10, one is compelled to think of
Shirley Caylor: ``And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in
the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.'' Her light
has illuminated our way. Her life is one we should emulate.
Madam Speaker, I ask that you and my other colleagues join me in
honoring Shirley Caylor for her extraordinary career and service to the
youth of Northwest Indiana and to wish her well upon her retirement.
Shirley's impact on the region will be witnessed by generations to
come, and for her many contributions, she is worthy of our utmost
gratitude and appreciation.
____________________
