Alzheimer's Centers Say They Need to Do More
A But most black families rake care of their own
By DAVID L. DILLARD
Chrome I* Suff writcr
Brerxla Humphrey was making
a name for herself teaching, lectur
ing, writing and traversing the world
? sometimes in the company of
renowned poet and author Maya
Angelou.
After living in Portland, Maine
as a journalist and serving on the
Maine Commission for Women,
then moving to Washington, D.C.,
in 1991, the Winston-Salem native,
had to return home when her
mother became stricken with
Alzheimer's disease.
"It has been a sacrifice," she
said. "A sacrifice that I tried to plan
for, but couldn't."
The Humphreys are one of
many black families with a member
suffering from the severe disease,
who choose to care for their own.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive,
degenerative disease thai attacks the
brain and results in impaired mem
ory, thinking and behavior. In the
lL-county area served by the N.C.
Triad Chapter of the Alzheimer's
Association, there are approxi
mately 22, OCX) victims. There is no
known cause or cure for the disease.
Jan Sawyer, director of the triad
Alzheimer's chapter, said that black
families normally do not frequent
the center as much as whites.
"Most black families with
members who have some form of
dementia don't use the center as
much," she said. "That's because
they have stronger, more informed
networks for taking care of their
own."
Humphrey said her mother was
first diagnosed as having dementia
in 1983, but noticeable changes in
her behavior became apparent
around 1987.
estate. Humphrey said her problems
worsened when she was given
guardianship of her mother but not
the estaie.The guardian of the estate,
she claims, allowed bills to go
unpaid and was negligent in other
ways.
B rendu Humphrey (right) says caring for her mother, Catherine , at
home is a sacrifice , but she's assured she's getting the best care .
" ft was apparent that something
was wrong," Humphrey said. "She
didn't know where she was or where
she lived. Still (the court) ruled that
she was competent."
A few years later, Humphrey's
mother, Catherine, was ruled incom
petent and a court-appointed
guardian was placed in charge of the
"I've had to do everything by
myself so far. Every step has been
alone," she said.
Billie White, director of the
Senior Life Enrichment Center, said
a lot of times blacks feel guilty
about sending a family member to a
home or center.
"In the minority community,
most blacks tend to keep them at
home because they 6a ve a more nur
turing spirit about them," she said.
"They want the best for their loved
ones and therefore feel guilty when
placing them in another setting. This
setting is designed so you don't feel
guilty."
The two-year-old center, under
the auspices of Mt. Zion Baptist
Church on Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard, offers programs and
activities for senior citizens with
dementia or other disabling diseases
and only operates from 8 a.m until S
p.m.
White, whose center currently
has eight persons diagnosed with
Alzheimer's and others with differ
ent forms of dementia, said their
patients are neither noisy nor trou
blesome and the center doesn't give
medication in any form.
"How do I keep them quiet?
You keep them busy and you give
them. love. No drug can beat love.
"My staff works to enrich their
lives and give them a sense of inde
pendence so they won't be burden
some to the family," White said.
Sawyer admits that the
Alzheimer's center has not tradition
ally served blacks at the level they
should, but she plans to reach out
and serve a greater magnitude of
black families.
_ "A lot of times we are not able
to respond because we serve cities
throughout the Triad area," she said.
There are services out there, but we
were not responding to the needs of
the black community as we would
like to."
Donald "Sarge" Nay lor, director, and Walter "Doc" Fare bee, supervi
sor, serve the service corps as role models and mentors, -
i f -rw ^?v:..aMBLl
Service corps members , yuan Pearson and Anthony Lewis work as a
team to tackle the excell debris.
Service Corps Helps Volunteers Improve Self-Esteem
By DELHTHIA SUMMEY
Chronicle Suff Writer
Most people are familiar with
the Winston -SaJem/Forsyth County
Service Corps only as a satellite
program of the Workforce Develop
ment Department
But as the saying goes ? there
are two sides to every story.
The service corps, designed for
young adults between the ages of 18
and 23, are screened by Deltra J.
Boifner, the Summer Youth
Employment coordinator, and Barry
D. Ross, the eligibility specialist.
After selections are made, corps
members assist in improving the
community through light construc
tion, such as painting and cleaning
lots.
The workers voluntarily partici
pate in Operation Paintbrush, spon
sored by the United Way of Forsyth
County. The program enables senior
citizens to have their houses painted
professionally without the worry of
expenses. In order to earn an
income for supplies and wages, the
service corps originated "Fee for
Service."
Through this program, the
young men have successfully com
pleted jobs for Showtyme Carcare,
former Winston-Salem State Uni
versity basketball coach Clarence
"Bighouse" Gaines, Hanes Hosiery,
the Crosby Golf Tournament and
houses in various neighborhoods.
Currently, the program is only
made up of men, but it is also open
to women.
This year-round program not
only "focuses young men lo initially
know how to deal with the work
world and work habits," said crew
leader Johnny Fuller, it is a source
of self-esteem and motivation.
Every Tuesday and Thursday
after working outdoors from 7:30
a.m. to 3 p.m., 15 of the 20 youths
strive toward their Graduate Equiva
lent Diplomas. David Peay, a mem
ber of the Forsyth Technical Col
lege, carries out the lesson from
3:30-5:30 p.m., which includes
reading, vocabulary, grammar and
mathematics. Peay also conducts
pre-tests in preparation for the GED
exam.
In reference to the participants
education, the director, Donald
"Sarge'* Naylor, said many are
determined to earn their GEDs
because "no matter how smart you
arc, it's no .good unless you share
it"
To show that the organization
is not all work and no play, Friday
is reserved for leisure, when discus
sions concerning experiences and
achievements take place and people
from the community speak on cer
tain subjects.
Occasionally, the staff will take
members to plays and sporting
events.
Although the Youth Service
Corps is an extension of the city,
businesses such as Sara Lee, Lee
Jean Co., Winston-Salem Tees and
Shelco Inc. have donated funds.
Assistance from these patrons has
given this program publicity and
required equipment
Nay lor said the program also
teaches the youths responsibility
and prevents them from, hanging in
the street.
"We need this program," he
said, "because we can't afford to let
them down."
Family Says Murder Charge Wrong frompage Ai
tenced.
"He admitted that he drove the
motor grader, but he jumped off,"
she said. "It was just a freak acci
dent, that's all it was. It wasn't noth
ing but an accident."
The courtroom, filled with uni
formed and plain-cloihes officers ?
including Chief George Sweat ?
helped create an atmosphere unsym
pathetic to Conrad Crews and his
family, as prosecutors tried to jus
tify the sentence by characterizing
Crews as "a threat to the public,"
she said.
"They made my son feel real
low," she said. "I'm still not satis
fied ... but they got what they
wanted."
Conrad was indicted for first
degree murder; a plea bargain
allowed him to plead guilty to sec
ond-degree murder, but prosecutors
were seeking the death penalty.
Crews said her son was on parole at
the time, and prosecutors made it
seem like he intentionally killed
Tise.
Warren Sparrow, Crews
lawyer, refused to comment
"They felt like he had some
thing against the police department.
but it was just an accident," she
said. "I never heard anybody men
tion how I feel ? how his family
feels."
Crews said she felt like prose
cutors railroaded her son's case
because the trial date was set for
Aug. 9, and the other teenagers
involved in the incident had turned
state's evidence against Conrad for
the charges to be dropped against
them in return.
"I felt like something wasn't
right They acted like they had to
get him off the streets," she said. "I
wish it had went on to a full trial
with the jury."
Crews believes the prosecution
didn't want a jury trial because evi
dence that might exonerate Conrad
could have been uncovered.
"He was a very respectful per
son. Why couldn't he get a fair trial?
They didn't have but a month," she
said. "I think there's something that
could prove he didn't really do iL I
really do."
When asked if the prosecution
tried to make an example out of
Conrad, she replied "Yes. Defi
nitely."
Youths discuss their concerns at a Teen Forum last week at WSSU.
Teen Forum Discusses Concerns
By DELEITHIA SUMMEY
Chroniclt Staff Writer
"We are the future, so we must
get involved in rebuilding our com
munity," said Michelle Meeks, a
student at Winston-Salem State
University.
Meeks made that poignant
comment as she led a Teen Forum
concerning crime last Wednesday
night at the WSSU Student Union.
Guest speakers were Mayor Martha
Wood and Capt. F.A. Holman of
the Winston-Salem Police Depart
ment
To enable teenagers to realize
the seriousness of crime's effect on
their lives, Meeks opened the dis
cussion with statistics predicting
the future of black males between
the ages of 16 to 20.
Afterward, participants
addressed questions and concerns
to Wood and Holman that concen
trated on the reasons behind the
increasing crime rates. Among the
many issues discussed were
teenagers not being involved in
activities due to the early closing
hours of public pools and recre
ational centers and teenagers not
being taught laws and constitu
tional rights.
Cassandra Boyd, a WSSU stu
dent, said there is a need to change
attitudes.
Other issues presented were
police officers harassing blacks, the
50- foot noise ordinance, and the
difference between youths "cruis
ing" Stratford Road and youths
socializing at stores and restaurants
in East Winston.
Despite the occasional feeling
that voicing opinions will not make
a difference, Wood agreed to have
a survey done on the hours of recre
ational centers and public pools.
Holman advised those who have
been searched illegally to write
down the officer's name and car
number and report it.
"We need these types of meeu
ings because we need to know the
citizens' opinion," Holman said.
W-S Sportsmen Club
-Elects* New President
Greg Sims was elected pres
ident of the Winston-Salem
Sportmen Club Inc. at its 36th
annual meeting held recently at
the Winston Lake Family
YMCA.
Sims has been an active
member of the organization for
eight years. He has been the
coordinator of the Mary G arbor
Girls' Basketball Classic since
its inception in 1990.
He holds an undergraduate
degree in psychology from Wake
Forest University (1976) and a
master's degree in education
from Wake Forest (1980).
Sims said his immediate
goals for the sportmen's club
include having the Mary Garbor
Basketball Classic played in the
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memor
ial Coliseum or its annex by
1995 and having the annual High
School Sports Hall of Fame pro
gram attract more corporate
sponsors and community partici
pation through in-kind services
and ticket sales.
Sims' leadership cabinet
includes: Marshall Hairston, vice
president; Marty Penn, recording
secretary; Donald Braxton, cor
responding secretary; Victor
Lawrence, financial secretary;
Charlie Clifton, treasurer, Wen
dell Brown, parliamentarian;
Amos McGendon, chaplain; and
Ernest Squire, sergeant- at-arms.
Pastors to Aid Cuban Churches
American ministers are gather
ing next week to raise money and
supplies for Cubans impoverished
by the U.S. trade embargo.
The Rev. John Mendez, pastor
of Emmanuel Baptist Church, said
Pastors for Peace and the Progres
sive National Baptist Conventional,
of which many Cuban churches arc
members, will meet with a delega
tion of Cuban ministers at
Emmanuel on Tuesday to raise
money and collect supplies.
Pastors For Peace is a group of
Teligious leaders from around the
country that work toward humani
tarian aid for other countries.
Mendez said the U.S. has made
friendship with other countries,
such as China and North Korea,
and should now improve its rela
tionship with Cuba. A fund-raising
rally will also be held ai the church
on July 20 at 7 p.m. For more infor
mation call Mendez at 788-7023 or
Pastor For Pcacc at (612) 378-0062.
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