PROFILES
FEBRUARY 10, 1993
1
Airport Garden’s tenant does it all
By Jacqueline Charles
Ink Assistant Editor
Kathy Gomez has spent most
of her life in public housing, but
she does not plan to stay there.
“People in public housing have
bten stereotyped. They’ve been
forgotten by the people who get out
and those in the private secUH',” said
Gomez, a wife, mother and public
h( using resident for 15 years.
Last August, Gomez became
piesident of Airport Gardens, the
public housing complex where she
lives. She said her goal is to help
>' iidents fmd out what their rights
are and how to protect them.
“I feel like I can be a positive
iriluence in the lives of people who
li vein public housing,” said Gomez,
'vho also served as president in
^88.
Gomez said her first term as
president was hard. Not because of
a lack of experience, but because of
a lack of motivation on the part of
.^sidents.
“People wanted to see change
but they were easy to give up,”
Gomez said.
Although Gomez has only been
in office for five months, she has
already begun to see a change in
residents’ attitude and the commu
nity itself. Along with a tutoring
program. Airport Gardens recently
started a feasibility study for home
ownership and Gomez and others
have begun working on a partner
ship with the town of Chapel Hill to
provide residents with jobs.
“We’re looking to see if we can
contract with the town to do land
scaping, painting and cleaning,” said
Gomez, who also encourages resi
dents to serve on town boards and
committees.
Gomez, however, hasn’talways
been as involved as she presently is.
There was once a time when she
didn’t care much what the town of
Chapel Hill did, she said.
“But once I got involved, I
wanted to stay involved,” Gomez
said.
Gomez’s efforts to be a good
resident and to help make a differ
ence in her community does re
quire sacrifices.
When Gomez decided last sping
to join a countywide drug aware
ness program as a liaison, she had
no idea that her rent would increase
or that she would have to resign
from her post on the Chapel Hill
Human Service Board.
While she is mad at the $100
increase in rent and having to leave
her post, Gomez said she’ll survive.
“I won’t quit the job,” Gomez
said.
Regina Jones, a long-time friend
and customer of Gomez said
Gomez’s success doesn’t surprise
her.
“The whole family is like that,”
Jones said.
When Gomez is not presiding
over meetings or attending one, she
can be found in the back room of
Delaine’s House of Beauty located
at 400 Rosemary St. In August, she
completed a course in cosmetology
as a certified nail technician.
ve always done my own nai Is,
so when Delaine asked why don’t 1
go to school, I did,” Gomez said.
So how does the 37-year-old
mother of two manage a family,
volunteer work and 12 customers a
week?
“My love for people,” said
Gomez, who hopes to one day move
out of public housing and into the
private sector. “You’ve got to be
lieve in yourself.”
As for the future, Gomez said
she’s determined to be a role-model
for her neighbors and children.
“They need to know that every
thing is not peaches and cream like
you see on TV.”
(In the last issue of Black Ink, re-
]X)rter John McCann incorrectly
identified Kathy Gomezas a "former
cocaine user." This statement was
false. In fact, Gomez descrbes her
self as a crusader aginst drug use.
Black Ink regrets the error.)
Delaine’s House of
Beauty
featuringt
Kathy Gomez, Nail Teclmlciaii
SCASOIIABImEi PltllSESS
400 Rosemary St. Chapel Hill
Phone 932-5405
Closed Sunday and Monday
Alumna offers assistance through Student Legal Services
By Kami Chavis
Ink Stc^ Writer
CarolinaStudentLegal Services,
Inc. is for all youTar Heel trouble-
iTiakers or anyone else in need of
legal assistance.
Located in Suite 222 in the Stu
dent Union, CSLS is a non-profit
program funded by student activity
foes.
Dorothy Bemholz, an attorney
I at CSLS, is a valuable part of the
service. AftCT receiving a degree
I from the University of North Caro-
I iina at Chapel Hill in 1963, she
miirried and later entered Law
School at North Carolina Central
University. Bemholz, one of the
few while women on the campus at
that lime, was extremely active dur
ing her years at NCCU.
After NCCU’s law library
burned, the state was slow in fund
ing the replacement of all of the lost
I bo^ and rebuilding the library.
Bf mholz joined with other students
L who took measures in ordo- to get
money appropriated for a new build
ing and more books.
BLACK INK/COREY BROWN
Bernholz, a graduate of NCCU Law, provides legal
advice to UNC-CH students.
Established in 1974, CSLS pro
vides services such as: making sure
students are aware of factors they
should take into account when seek
ing legal advice; determining if one
actually needs a lawyer, and choos
ing appropriate representation or
referral.
There is also a law program,
which advises students in ways lo
avoid legal problems and how to
properly deal with a situation if, in
fact, the student happens to be un
fortunate enough to have a legal
problem.
Bemholz has many special
memories from her years at NCCU.
Says Bemholz, “One important
thing you get from attending Law
School, especially if you practice
near that school, is developing long-
lasting friendships with other fu
ture lawyers, judges, and political
figures.”
In addition to serving on the
Law Review at NCCU, she gradu
ated Cum Laude. In 1975, she came
lo work for Carolina Student Legal
Services, Inc.
Bemholz has received many
honors throughout her career. For
example, in 1979, she was the re
cipient of a fellowship from the
National Endowment for the Hu
manities to attend Harvard Univer
sity for three months.
She said, “I enjoyed the time I
spent at Harvard because there was
always aconstant exchange of ideas
with people from all over the world.”
Geraldine Ferraro was one of the
guest lecturers. In addition to work
ing atCSLS she is an academic pre
law adviser and serves as faculty
adviser lo the pre-law organization.
However, her dedication lo the
legal field extends beyond the Uni
versity. She is a court certified arbi
trator and mediator in Orange
County. For the Iasi three years she
has served as a co-chairwoman for
the State Commission on the Status
of Women Lawyers in North Caro
lina.
“When 1 graduated from law
school, only three percent of law
yers were women, but by the year
2000, women will make up 45 per
cent of lawyers,” Bemholz said.
“Because the number of women
lawyers is increasing, our commis
sion looks at issues affecting
women in law from things like pa
rental leave lo discrimination in the
courtroom.”
No one in the Bemholz family
will ever be without legal repre
sentation considering her husband
and daughter are already lawyers
and her son is currently a law stu
dent.