Sports Week Coaches, players \ ready for Lash ? ? ? ? Johnson could pack a punch as owner See BI si] See A 2 See CI Community Kids get gentler toys at exchange event ? ? *? Magazine names top schools for blacks C^Chroniclb 75 cents t N s 1 " \ - S \ 1.1- M - (? K I I N s H () k I > ? Hu.lt I',MM Vq| Nq , ? oi. - u. ,?t aneuers appeal for help as it gets colder Recent closing of popular ministry has created even bigger problem BY PAUL COLLINS THE CHRONICLE ?! More people are staying at Samaritan Inn - Samaritan Ministries' men's shelter - this year than last year because of the troubled economy and the closing of the Lighthouse Ministries' shelter earlier this year, said Jeff Hardin, develop ment director for Samaritan Ministries. Sonjia Kurosky, executive director of Samar itan Ministries, agreed that demand is "high." Hardin said there has been a 7 percent increase in men staying at the shelter this year. '"We have a 69-bed shelter....By the end of this year we will have provided about 25,000 nights of shelter. That is the number of men in the shel ter per night times 365....That's not a record, but it s in the upper range of our all time service." He said Samaritan Inn was busy even before the Light house Ministries' shelter closed dur ing the summer. "We've been busy all year." Samaritan Inn provides men a place to sleep and then breakfast the following morn ing and dinner that Hardin night if they continue to stay. The shelter does not allow men to stay there during the day. Samaritan Ministries also offers the men some limited case management. A counselor will ask the man what issues caused him to become homeless and how Samaritan Ministries can assist him in not being homeless any longer. The counselor will help the man lay out an action plan - perhaps getting job training or job resources, or finding a job and sav- - ing money in order to get out of the shelter. A man can stay 90 consecutive days at the shelter and possibly get an additional 30 days (for a total of 120 days) if the man is making good progress on his action plan. Samaritan Ministries actively works with ' other agencies - such as CenterPoint Human Ser- ? vices for mental health needs or agencies to pro vide needed medications for health problems - to I help the men get on their feet, Hardin said. He also said Samaritan Ministries has seen an increase in the number of meals served at its soup kitchen - up 26 percent over the last three years, i "We just probably, in the last week or so, sur- 1 passed our all-time record for meals served in a I year. We'll probably, by the time the year's over, i be right at 130,000 total meals served. That's . lunch, which is open to anyone in the communi- | ty, no questions asked; and then dinner and break- I fast to our guests in the shelter." : "Not only are we in recessioh, but also the ? manufacturing base of our economy has been c dwindling over the last several years," Hardin said. "We're dealing with the people who don't | have as many jobs to compete for any longer I See Shelters on *8 I ? Photo by Bnice Chapman Local actors wow a crowd on the opening night of Black Nativity Dec. 13. The show, which is pro duced by Larry Leon Hamlin's NX. Black Repertory Company, has become a local holiday favorite. Billed as gospel Christmas musical. Black Nativity has three more runs at the Arts Council Theater. Tomorrow and Saturday the show will be presented at 8 p.m. and at 3 p.m. on Sunday. For infor mation about ticket prices and availability, call 336-723-2266. [New head of NAACP takes oath Stephen Hairston is a former Winston-Salem police officer who has been active with the organization for many years BYT. KEVIN WALKER THE CHRONICLE The work of the NAACP chapter presi dent is never done. There are countless meetings with everyone from business leaders to elected officials; hundreds of phone calls to respond to. many from peo ple who feel they have been victimized or discriminated against; and then there is the never-ending fight for economic, educa tional and social parity. Hairston Stephen Hairston is ready and willing to stand on the front lines here in Winston Salem. He was offi cially sworn in Dec. 17 as the new presi dent of the city's NAACP chapter. He takes over for long time NAACP head Bill Tatum, who has said that the full plate of being NAACP president was hard to balance along with his regular job. Hairston. 48. doesn't anticipate having that problem. He retired as a sergeant from the Winston-Salem Police Department two years ago after nearly 20 years on the force. "1 really have the time and the effort to put forward," he said. Hairston has been involved with the NAACP off and on for the better part of his life. He was a member when he was a teenager. At that time his uncle. Patrick Hairston, was president of the local chap ter. Stephen Hairston became active in the organization again in the mid-1990s when On the shoulders of angels Denise Hartsfield sworn j in as District Court judge I 3YT. KEVIN WALKER rHE CHRONICLE Hundreds of people packed a court room in the Forsyth County Courthouse ast Thursday to look on as Denise Hartsfield was officially swom in as the lewest District Court judge in the 21st fudicial District. There were so many people, in fact, that those who came in ate had to stand along walls. But the mention of Hartsfield and many of her supporters was on a person who, physi ;ally, was not in the packed room. Delray Hartsfield, DeniseV father, massed away in March. He was 82, and le and Denise's mother, Doris, had Sec Hartsfield on A7 ^U?^9e Poland Hayes swears in Judge Denise Hartsfield. he was working in the foot patrol division in public housing. Hair ston began to devote much of his time to the NAACP after retirement, often helping Tatum at the office and in the field. Although prob lems revolving around education and economics loom. I "Vl ? Tatum Hairston says his first goal is simply to reach out. "1 plan on starting at square one. and square one to me is getting out in the com munity. We have got to see (what) their concerns are. work with their concerns." By listening to concerns and responding appropriately to them, Hairston hopes to attract new members to the chapter (there are currently about 600 members) and See Hairston on A3 vJ j Photo coortcvy W SPD Officer Tony D. Cagle holds the certificate he was awarded last week by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Cagle earned the honor by pulling over a car that contained three suspects wanted for a rash of robberies. Read more about Cagle on C4. On a Rolle Former drug addict and prostitute graduates with honors from WSSU BY COURTNEY GAILLARI) THE CHRONICLE ? Janet Taylor Rolle was among the 214 stu dents who graduated from Winston-Salem State University on Dec. 13. The day was a high for Rolle. but in her life she has also experienced many lows. Less than 10 years before Rolle earned a bachelor's degree in English, she was living on the streets as a prostitute who was addicted to crack. How did she transition from a crack addict to a cum latide college graduate'.' Rolle credits her faith, foremost. Rolle was first introduced to drugs by a friend in 1985 when she was 27. At the time, sire S? Rolle im A7 Photo by Kevin Walker Janet Rolle cele brates after receiving her degree from Winston-salem State University. Rolle plans to find work as a schoolteacher and continue to minister to oth ers. 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