African- Americans Needed To Befriend New Mothers
B> SHERIDAN HILL
Chronicle Assistant Editor
Having a bab> is one of the
?ost exhilarating and frustrating
?enences in a woman's life: either
y, it's emotion-packed. The Wel
ine Baby program helps first-time
others adjust to their new role.
"?onna Hunt, who directs the pro
gram. is concerned because all of the
current volunteers are white. Wel
come Baby, which is part of
E\change/SCAN . is looking f ?
African-American volunteers.
Ashley Doughton. who coordi
nates all of the volunteers for
Exchange/SCAN, says it's one of
the most pleasant volunteer jobs in
the county. Each?month, volunteers
spend two hours visiting new moth
ers at Forsyth Memorial Hospital.
"It's entirely up to the volunteer
to choose which nev. mothers she '
visits," Doughton said. But we ask
them to see teenage or unwed moth
ers first, assuming they need our
support the most."
Volunteers commit to eight
hours per month, including hospital
visits, telephone contact, possible
home visits and filling out a brief
assessment form.
, Welcome Bab> worked with
406 new mothers in 1992. The year
before, they served 413. Of those.
124 were teenagers. 175 had
incomes below the poverty leiel.
and 147 were African- Americans.
Of the 12 active volunteers,
none are black, although there have
been black volunteers in the past.
j Donna Hunt, who directs the
program, said. "We want to provide
young black girls with role models
from their own race. said. "The
white volunteers have seWed well,
but it always helps to have someone
you can really relate to."
The program actually started in
June 1990. after a^ar of planning.
Winston-Salem Jiflpr League pro
vided Welcome Baby with initial^.,
f u nd i n g afitf^vo hmteef- r^ource^ior
the past three and one-half years.
"It would be wonderful if a
black community organization could
adopt us," Hunt said. "We need that
support, and so do the mothers.
These days people don't seem to
have the family support thes used to,
and. if they've got one more person
to turn to. it helps them through the
experience."
Doughton stresses that volun
teers don't need to be mothers: more
than anything, they ' need a
warm, supportive attitude. Many
times, you're just going in and
squealing about the baby and telling
the mother, if there's anything you
don't know, we'll get you a book
about it.'"
Sometimes, new mothers just
need to talk awhile, Doughton said.
They need someone to ease the. diffi
culty and share the joys of becoming
a mother.
Exchange/SCAN, whicly^pon
sors the program* offers treatment
programs for parents who/abuse or
^neglect their children.
- Welcome Baby volunteers
receive 12 hours of training TFour
night sessions running three hours
each).
The next training session is
scheduled to begin Tuesday, Jan. 26.
As a volunteer for the Welcome Baby program, Kim Greig visits young mothers. The pfogram has no African
American volunteers.
Salvation Army F eels Right At Home In New Building
-By Kr\ RFN-M^ HAWON?
Community News Reporter
After last year's neighborhood
controversy, disagreements among
city aldermen, and opposition from
a homeless advocacy group, the Sal
vation Army's homeless shelter is
resting comfortably in it$ new
Northwest Boulevard anct-Trade
Street location.
The Salvation Army opened its
doors in early November, despite
I
At the time of all the ruckusv
Homeless But Not Helpless didn't
want the shelter moved. Kay Vives,
who worked with the homeless
before her death, strongly opposed
the move. She said the shelter
should have been left where it was.
And the Winston-Salem Board
of Aldemien was stuck in the mid
dle.
The aldermen first considered
the Trade Street site in March 1991,
-ested parties. ?
Today, each group seems to be
at least partially content.
Mary Beth Yates, public rela
tions advisor for Homeless But Not
Helpless, said thi$ week, "HB&H
"does not have a stated position
about the Salvation Army facility.
However, we are still concerned
about the lack of space for single,
homeles^women in Winston
Salem."
Alderman Virginia K. NeweH.
of the East Ward, vore^one of the
' strongest concerns because the new
shelter is in her district.
"We wanted all the groups to
be satisfied ? Kimberly Park, Sal
vation Army, and Homeless But Not
Helpless." she said. "I feel the
mayor has done an outstanding job
in bringing the groups together*' 1
Now that the new shelter As
open. Newell said things have qui
eted down.
"Maybe we can put our feelings
behind us," she said. "We do not
want anymore crying. We've gor
too.much now. We do not want any
more violence. We've got too much
of that now."
Warren Coppedge. administra
tive assistant at Salvation Army,
said the non-profit agency is happy
with the new site.
"The area is easily accessible
for us and for our clients. This was
the largest of the sites," Coppedge
said. "We're in the middle of an'""
industrial area, surrounded by a resi
dential area. But we're not bound qy
a lot of property, so we have room
for expansion. We wouldn't have
the extra room with the other loca
tions.
Coppedge said the single-story,
23.000 square-foot shelter sits on
3.14 acres of land donated by the
city.
The Salvation Army gave W.
David Shannon, a local developer,
S650.000 and the old property on
South Marshall Street, worth
S450.000. in exchange for the new
SI. 2 million facility.
Coppedge said the Salvation
Army's clients are also happy with
the new location.
"It's like a child having a new
piece oT candy." he said. "We have
private rooms for families that we
didn't have in our old location. We
have a rwenty-four-hour shelter for
wompri with children and families.
This new shelter is nothing but
pluses."
Coppedge said there are plans
in the works to provide more ser
vices.
"The ministry we would like to
see in the future ts one where we're
not simply a handmaid, providing a
place to stay and a meal," Coppedge
said. "We want to design a program
to help our clientele develop some
self-sufficiency and provide job
training and drug and alci^hol reha
bilitation, and give them those
things to enhance their chances of
getting into permanent housing. We
have the design, but we need fund
ing and resources."
The Salvation Army's new location on Trade Street and Xorthwest
Boulevard offers room for expansion.
more than a year's worth of grum
bling from Kimberly Park Terrace
residents and Homeless But Not
Helpless.
Residents worried that moving
the shelter from its old location on
South Marshall Street to Trade
Street would add to the crime in
their neighborhood.
but delayed their vote until August
1991 because of disgruntlecTresi
dents and the homeless. The alder
men's 5-3 vote, which came after
two other sites were proposed,
finally ended months of debate for
the site. Mayor Martha S. Wood
was forced to call in a professional
mediator to help satisfy all the inter
Delta Sigma Honors
" Sigma Man of the Year"
7 TTie Delta Sigma Chapter of Phi
\Beia Sigma Fraternity Inc. celebrated
its Founders' Day program on Sun
x\.\\ . Jan. 17. at 2 p.m. at the Wayne's
Lounge Restaurant.
As part of the celebration, the
chapter honored "Sigma Man ofjhe
Year." In choosing an^^ndividual for
this award, such criteria was
achieved: create an environment that
respects the dignity and worth of each
brother; exhibit integrity and ethical
behavior in conducting the frater
nity's business; commitment and
demonstrate the ability to lead; and
maintain and improve the fraternity's
technological literacy in order to bet
ter service its members and the com
munity at large.
' The "Sigma Man of the Year"
award was given to John H. Alexan
der. Alexander has worked countless
hours of dedication and commitment
to insure that the programs and pro
jects of Phi Beta Sigma are estab
lished throughout the community.
John H. Alexander is a native of
Winston-Salem. He graduated from
Atkins High School. Alexander
? Mtffirded Winston -Salem Teachers'
( ' if/c "rom 1936 to 1940, where he
? : d his bachelor of science
? in e'ementarv education.
became a member of Phi
? *! Fra:t.-rr;t\ Inc. in 1938.
i i ? -\'r !ut i hi" .")f WmMon
Sai-r.: j ^achers' Ctilic^e undergradu
ate. After graduating, he joined the
graduate chapter, Delta Sigma.
John H. Alexander
Throughout his tenure. Alexander has
served as secretary, president, and
treasurer. He is presently employed at
Russell Funeral Home as a funeral
director. He is a member of Goler
Metropolitan AME Zion Church,
where he serves as chairman of the
Trustee Board.
He is a veteran of World War II,
where he served in the medical
department of the third Army. He is a
32nd degree mason and pass master
of Salem Lounge #139 Pnnce Hall,
pass illustrious potentate of Sethos
Temple #170 Shnners. pass imperial
deputy of the Oas^-prr^rtriston
Salem, and pass'Tmperial deputy of
Shnners Transportation of the AEAO
of the MS Inc.
"If you pur the yourself in
whatever you'-v :. > ? ? *- ij r:v ? f;- s
and you'll be \ ...torious. said
Alexander.
An Evening With Langston and Martin
' :V A
Danny
Glover
"Lethal Weapon" Films
"Grand Canyon,"
* "A Rage in Harlem/"
"The Color Purple"
Felix
Justice
"Martin Luther King,
Prophecy iii America"
January 28, 1.993
7:00 p-m.
Kenneth R, Williams Auditorium
Wssu Campna
$10.00 General Admission
$25.00 Pre-Performance Reception
with Danny Glover and Felix Justice
5:30-6:30 p.m.
$5.00 Student Admission
To purchase tickets coll or visit
Special Occasions
919-724-0334
Sponsored by the Winston-Salem Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity , Inc.
and Delta Chi Chapter, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, WSSU .