Courtney Grey

Courtney Grey

Courtney Grey, director of trauma services at the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), was recently selected as a 2009 Boston Neighborhood Fellow in recognition of his outstanding service to the community.

Grey was one of six “unsung heroes” given an unrestricted cash award of $30,000 for his work to make Boston a better place to live.

“I am extremely honored and humbled to receive this award,” said Grey, who has been employed by the BPHC since 2003. “It is a privilege to be recognized for work that you love so much and that feels like your calling. But the greatest reward is seeing the impact your work has on youths, families and communities.”

A Dorchester resident, Grey was honored for his work with victims of trauma, providing assistance to countless families through his work in the BPHC’s Office of Violence Prevention, and for his role as founder of Kilombo Novo, a community of children and adults who use the Afro Brazilian martial art form called Capoeira Angola to reduce violence and promote healing.

“I am proud of Courtney and grateful that others are recognizing the tremendous impact he’s had on improving the health and well-being of Boston residents,” said BPHC Executive Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer in a statement.

An MIT engineering graduate, Grey has conducted extensive research at Boston University School of Medicine on the effects of violent injury and co-authored the study “Pathways to Recurrent Trauma Among Young Black Men: Traumatic Stress, Substance Use, and the Code of the Street.”

Joining Grey as recipients of this year’s Neighborhood Fellows Award were J.M. Nelson Arroyo, president of the Hyde Square Task Force; Carline Desire of the Association of Haitian Women in Boston; Boston Police Sgt. Arthur McCarthy; Boston Police Officer William Willis; and Shaumba Yandje Dibinga of OrigiNation.

Now in its 19th year, the Boston Neighborhood Fellows program is administered by the Philanthropic Initiative Inc. on behalf of an anonymous donor.