Story of how Habitat changed lives wins honor
BY LAYLA FARMER
THfc CHRONICLE
Merita James never imag
ined she'd be a homeowner.
Her daughter, Charisse
James, never imagined she'd
win an international essay
contest. Both were wrong.
Merita James, a single
mother of two, completed the
requirements of Habitat for
Humanity and became the
proud owner of her own home
in 2CKK). Daughter Charisse,
then almost 13, remembers
what an exciting and emotion
al experience it was for her
family to move into their new
Habitat home
"We were allf, crying,"
James, now a senior and dou
ble major at N.C. State
University, said of the dedica
tion ceremony. "I remember
my mother saying she never
thought she'd have her own
home; to hear her say that ...
makes it even more impor
tant
Jones jotted her thoughts
down about the program and
walked away with first place
in the 19-25 age division of
the Habitat for Humanity's
Homeowners Youth Essay
Contest.
James says it was her
mother who received a letter
about the contest and urged
her to participate.
"She felt that I should
enter because I've always
been pretty good ,3! writing."
she commented. "I wanted To
win, but 1 don't think that was
the biggest thing on my
brain."
James received word last
month that she had won.
"I didn't really scream
out. but it all bubbling inside
of me," she said. "1 was real
ly smiling and excited."
More than 1700 affiliates
make up the international
organization, helping count
less families around the globe
to achieveihe dream of home
ownership.
"I am extremely proud of
(Charisse) and her family,"
commented Hilda Moore,
director of Family Services
for Habitat-Forsyth. "They
have always been very ambi
tious."
For Charisse, making the
transition to a Habitat home
meant a room all to herself
after sharing a space with
brother Sherod, seven years
her senior, since birth.
"1 guess when I was little,
it probably wasn't a big deal,
but as I got older. 1 wanted my
own space," she related.
"There was really no private
place for either one of us (in
our previous home)."o
Habitat for Humanity has
irrevocably changed her life,
James says. Watching her
mother struggle to achieve the
dream the organization would
eventually afford her was
especially empowering, she
added.
"If you believe it, you can
achieve it - that's what I think
I've learned from her," James
remarked. "It's not like work
ing on this home was the only
thing she had to do. She still
had her regular job and taking
care of us. I'm sure she was
tired, but she never com
plained."
Even when she went away
to school, James says she car
ried the lessons her mother
and Habitat had faught hef:
She participates in an annual
campus wide "Shack-a-thon,"
where students sleep in
shacks to raise money?for the
local affiliate, and volunteers
whenever she can.
"I don't take it lightly that
we were able to receive a
home," she said. "Now that
we're in it and we've been
living our lives. I haven't for
gotten to give back. Every
opportunity to do something
for someone else is a joy lo
__ _ ?*
me.
Winning (he contest was
another notch on her belt for
the psychology / sociology
major, who allocated her $500
winnings for Habitat-Forsyth,
in hopes that she might help
another bright young girl like
herself become the recipient
of her own room.
"It feels good to share my
story," she said with a grin.
"I'm proud be able to say that
I won."
1 U I w ? ? ? ? ??
BestHealth
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
August 2008 Events
Events are held at BestHealtfi in Hanes Mad or other locations, as noted.
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I FRl - The Environment:
Health vs. Hazard
11:30 a.m. Dr. Henderson
McGinnis of WFUBMC Emergency
Medicine and the Appalachian
Center for Wilderness Medicine
offers tips and remedies for things
such as burns, heat exhaustion, bites
and drowning.
5 THE - Technology for the
21st Century Family
10:30 a.m. Representatives from
Computer Tree demonstrate and
instruct senior adults in the success
ful us^ and application of the
Internet, personal digital assistants,
MP3 players and other devices.
5 TUE - Wok 'n' Roll 101
6 to 7:30 p.m. Using a wok to
make healthy, tasty meals is easier
than you think! Chef Ernest Knight
shares recipes and samples with an
Asian flare. W ?
7 THU - The Healing Touch
6 p.m. Deborah Larrimore, RN,
of the WFUBMC Complementary
and Integrative Medicine Program
presents 'Healing Touch,' an ener
gy-based therapy that promotes
health and healing. Learn how it
supplements traditional medical
treatments.
8 FW - Look Good, Feel Better
I I a.m. to 1 p.m. Women under
going cancer treatment learn ways
to enhance their appearance and feel
better about themselves. Receive a
make-up kit valued at over $ 1 50 for
participating. Sponsored by the
American Cancer Society,
1 1 M0N ? Dispelling the
Dyslexia Myths
6 p.m. Dyslexia affects reading and
writing. WFUBMC neuropsycholo
gist Dr. Cecile Naylor explains its
origin, symptoms and treatments
for all ages.
12 TUE - Belly Dancing
6 p.m. Learn a fun way to get in
shape with instructor Paula Stump.
Dress comfortably to participate. 5V
13 WED - Knee Pain
2:30 p.m. Learn the causes of
and treatments for knee pain
from chief physician's assistant
Frank Caruso of WFUBMC
Orthopaedic Surgery.
13 WED * How to Deal with
Difficult People
4 p.m. Dr. Laurel Link of WFUBMC
pastoral counseling presents strate
gies for how to best handle people
who are overbearing or intimidating
in ways that reduce stress and pro
duce good outcomes. VT
I4THU - Hair Restoration
6 p.m. WFUBMC otolaryngologist
Dr. Neal Goldman discusses the
process and advances in modern
hair restoration procedures.
15 FRI - Healthy Lunch,
Happy Child
12 to 1:30 p.m. A healthy midday
meal can be the secret to a produc
tive school day for kids of all ages.
Chef Nikki Miller-Ka
shares ideas for
unique and
simple lunch
' box favorites.
19 TU? - Mature Driver
Safety Program
12 to 4 p.m. Drivers ages 50+ learn
ways to improve driving skills and
avoid car crashes in this ?-hour
classroom-based course sponsored
by AARP and led by WFUBMC
nurse Donna Joyner. Continues
Wed., 8/20, 12-4 pm. $10 per per
son for the two-day course, f,
21 THU - Dress Up Your
Salads
5:15 to 6:45 p.m. The perfect way
to top off a summery salad is with a
zesty dressing. Barry Moody shares his
personal secrets for flavorful salads.
Recipes and samples provided,
22 FRI - Are Your Muscles
Weak?
4 p.m. Myasthenia gravis is a neuro
muscular disorder characterized by
variable weakness of voluntary mus
cles, which often improves with rest
and worsens with activity. WFUBMC
neurologist Dr. James Caress explains
the potential causes as well as diagno
sis and treatment.
23 SAT - Love to Landscape
11:30 a.m. Join Marcia Wood,
Allied ASID and APLD, to learn
the most important fall gardening
chores for maintaining an attractive
landscape around your home.^F
23 SAT - Eat, Drink, and Be
Encouraged!
1:30 p.m. Jackie Stanley shares
tools and strategies to help you turn
the page on despair, defeat and dis
couragement so you can begin
reshaping your life. 1 tt
25 M0N - Lose Weight with
the Lap-Band*
System
6 p.m. WFUBMC surgeon Dr.
Adolfo Fernandez explains the Lap
Band? System, which closes off a
large portion of the stomach in an
effort to lessen fat and calorie con
sumption. Learn about the risks and
benefits of this alternative to
gastric bypass.
26 TUE - Voice and
Swallowing
Disorders
11:30 a.m. Certain factors can
affect the sound of your voice,
how smoothly food passes down
yojiir throat, or both. WFUBMC
otolaryngologist Dr. Carter Wright
explains these factors, describes
symptoms and provides an overview
of treatments,
26 TUE - Fibroid Facts
6 p.m. Uterine fibroids can cause
pain in women of all ages and can
affect reproduction if not properly
treated. Dr. Tamer Yalcinkaya of
WFUBMC Reproductive Medicine
explains the symptoms, diagnosis n
and treatments.
27 WED - Yoga for
Relaxation
12 p.m. Join certified instructor
Valerie Kiser of Sunrise Yoga for an
interactive session that shows you
how yoga tan help you relax.
27 WED - Faith in Health4
and Healing
3 p.m. Mark Jensen of WFUBMC
Chaplaincy and Pastoral Education
discusses the role of spirituality in
physical and emotional healing, as
well as the significance of prayer and
church support.
28 THU - Advance Directives
1 p.m. Learn how advance directives
such as a living will can ensure your
wishes will bfc met. Learn the termi
nology and procedures and have doc
uments notarized free of charge.
28 THU - Rebuilding a
Broken Spine
6 p.m. Thanks to recent medical
advances, patients suffering from
degenerative disc disease are finding
many surgical alternatives. Artificial
disc surgery provides patients relief
from neck pain and allows them to
resume a normal lifestyle. WFUBMC
neurosurgeon Dr. Thomas Sweasey
presents the procedure, risks and
benefits associated with artificial
cervical discs.
Othoi I oc.itions
4 MON- Triathlon 101:
Preparing Your Mind
and Your Body
5:45 to 6:45 p.m.; 7 to 8 p.m.
At 5:45 p.m., join BestHealth regis
tered dietitian Dayle Fuentes for
recipes, samples and meal ideas to
prepare your body for the endurance
needed to compete in a triathlon. At
7 p.m., join Emily and Keith Davis
of Fleet Feet Sports to learn triath
lon basics: the lingo, race logistics
and how to get started. 'Register for
one or both sessions.
Held at the new
Gateway YWCA,
1300 S. Main St.,
Winston-Salem. ^1
20 WED ? Healthy Foods
for Kids
11 a.m. or 6 p.m. BestHealth
registered dietitian Dayle Fuentes
discusses nutritious snacks, ideas
for creative and healthy lunches
and easy weeknight dinners the
whole family will love. Held at
Whole Foods Market?, Miller St.,
Winston-Salem. Space limited;
registration required.
moio ny v name vnincn
Merita James' family's dreams came true.
Memorial
from page \2
other things on that list."
said Tracie Washington, a local
attorney who advocates for
affordable housing, health care
and other needs in the city.
"You kind of presume it's
going to get done. You just
never think in advance who is
going to get it done."
M i n y a r d ' s
ik/Mi li lar.i/l
will be a bronze statue of two
angels rescuing a fleur-de-lis,
the city symbol.
It will sit on a piece of land
donated by Louisiana State
University known as the
Charity Hospital Cemetery.
The grounds there contain the
unmarked graves of centuries
of the city's poorest. If remains
are discovered during topsoil
removal, work will be stopped
while an onsite archaeologist
documents.
the memorial proj
ect after organiz
ing some 900
KatrinV-related
autopsies, and
helping investi
gate 3,000 missing
person's reports.
The city coroner
has now become a
repository for One
of the worst npr
Minyard
Minyard is unsure
how many plaques
will be displayed,
because defining a
Katrina-related fatali
ty carries legal ramifi
cations, affects life
insurance policies and
public aid. Some
drowned, some died
from exposure, and
others died weeks
capita murder rates in the
country, with 209 killed in
200^ and 95 killed so far this
year.
Coroner psychologist Dr.
Jeffrey Rouse, whose duty is to
help families cope with death,
designed a Katrina tribute that
will be shaped like a satellite
image of the hurricane. .
A canopy of trees will lead
visitors to the structure, where
they can follow circular pat
terns of plaque-filled walls
bearing the names of the
deceased. On either side, mau
soleums for the unclaimed will
stand, the bodies able to be
moved if family members sur
face to bury them on a private
plot. In the eye of the storm
later from apparent physical
stress during the evacuation.
Statp health department statis
tics show blacks were 53 per
cent of fatalities and whites
were 39 percent - many of
them over the age of 65.
There were no completion
dates set for each stage of con
struction on a memorial to
them. Two days after The
Associated Press asked about
its status, LSU signed off on a
city permit to allow topsoil
clearing at an undetermined
date. Workers later drove a
pattern of stakes into the
ground and drew an outline
with fluorescent paint. For
now, the only place the monu
ment exists is in a Web site
rendering.
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