J. staff writer Stacey Palevsky has been selected as the recipient of a 2009 Excellence in Journalism Award from the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for her story “Spiritual caregivers: Volunteers provide a ray of light to people nearing the end.”

Palevsky won in the category of best feature writing for a non-daily publication. The article, published June 19, illustrated the relationship between three volunteers, known as “spiritual care partners,” and elderly patients at the Jewish Home in San Francisco.

Palevsky, 28, is a native of Cleveland who has lived and worked in San Francisco for three years. Last year, her article about an Orthodox lawyer and his pro-bono client, a Christian woman convicted of murdering her abusive husband, earned her a Simon Rockower Award for Excellence in Jewish Journalism from the American Jewish Press Association.

Palevsky and others, including late Jewish journalist Lani Silver and former j. reporter Joe Eskenazi, will be honored at the SPJ–Northern California awards dinner Nov. 10 in San Francisco.

Silver is being honored posthumously with the establishment of the Silver Heart Award, which will honor journalists whose careers reflect an extraordinary dedication to giving voice to the voiceless.

Silver, who died in January, founded the Bay Area Oral History Project. In her 16 years with the project, Silver coordinated the gathering of 1,700 interviews with 1,400 Holocaust survivors and witnesses.

Eskenazi won an award in the category of best explanatory reporting for a non-daily publication. His article, “Service with a snarl,” examined the laws surrounding the use of service animals in San Francisco.