HAWS
from page A7
to get people out of public
housing by giving them the
essential resource of a sound
edication.
"Low income doesn't nec
essarily mean you have low
standards, but 1 want people
to realize they don't have to
be low income. You can
work your way out of that,"
Edwards remarked. "We like
public housing, but it never
was meant to be a permanent
solution."
More than $100,000
remains in the grant, which
will expire in April 2012.
HAWS is partnering with the
Winston-Salem Urban
League, which has agreed to
conduct comprehensive career
assessments on potential
applicants to help them deter
mine their best educational
paths. Edwards is hopeful
that the program's success
will inspire HAWS to incor
porate its cost into its operat
ing budget after the HUD
grant expires.
"This is part of our mis
sion and vision. Our mis
sion is to create and maintain
sustainable communities
through partnerships, and
that's just what
we re doing, she
explained. "...My
hope is that those
persons that get a
jump start
(through LEAD)
will be able to
continue and we
will see them
through."
Tineta Brown
has Q^TVpH rw\r.
dinator of the
LEAD program
since March.
Brown, a resident
of the Stoney Glen
Apartments com- t
munity for the last
six years, knows
firsthand the chal- I
lenges many |
LEAD participants
are up against.
She completed her bachelor's
degree in business adminis
tration from Gardner-Webb
University in 2009.
"I felt like it was a very
unique opportunity, me being
a public housing resident
myself and experiencing the
Evans
Brown
trials of being a single parent
and going back to school to
finish my degree," said
Brown, the mother
of one son. "1 felt
like I could really
give some firsthand
knowledge to the
participants going
through the pro
gram
Those who
have come through
her door have been
deeply grateful for
tKi> i\nn>\rt n n i I \
1 1 IV. uppwuuiiu^
LEAD extends to
them. Brown
reported.
'They love it,"
she said of the ten
ants. "When I
have appointments
to come in, by the
end when they
leave, they usually
hug me. They just
think it's a won
derful program, and it really
is."
Twenty-one year-old Ryan
Evans, a business major at
Forsyth Technical
Community College and also
a Stoney Glen resident, fin
ished with a 4.0 GPA last
semester. The youngest of
four children, Evans said
LEAD has helped offset the
expense of keeping her five
year-old daughter, Jamiah, in
daycare while she attends
school. Evans, who has
worked for HAWS for the last
two years, hopes to transfer
to High Point University to
complete her bachelor's
degree.
"The best thing we have
is our brains," she stated.
"My dad always said as long
as you have a good education,
you can do anything you
want to do, so I feel like it's
very necessary to succeed in
life."
Evans says she is grateful
for the support she and
J ami ah have received from
HAWS over the four years of
their residency.
"They have provided so
many opportunities for me,"
she said of HAWS. "All 1
can do is thank God for me
being in the right place at the
right time."
For more information
about LEAD, call (336) 727
H500 or visit www.hm s.orK.
Survivors
from pa^e A1
and a half years ago, said he
and his wife have become
impromptu advocates,
encouraging others who are
grappling with the disease
when they
encounter them.
"If you meet
somebody that
has that, you can
tell them the Lord
healed you and if
they trust in the
Lord, He will heal
them too," related
the 70 year-old.
"1 say, 'I've been
through that
seven years ago and the Lord
brought me through and I'm
still doing all right. ..He let
me make three score and 10
(years old). It's a blessing."
Brenda Sloan, a 17-year
breast cancer survivor, says
battling the disease has
taught her to "live each day
as if it's the last day."
Lovelace
Though she has enjoyed near
ly two decades of good
health, Sloan, who relocated
to Winston-Salem from the
Virginia eight years ago,
says the possibility of a
relapse is never far from a
survivor's mind. Being able
to commune with other sur
? I ' VI J IIVipj IV/
salve the sting of
uncertainty, she
said.
"All these peo
ple have had differ
ent types of cancer
and they've been at
different stages, and
they're happy and
going on with their
lives," she
observed. "It's
encouraging."
Dr. Patty Zekan, an
oncologist for the last 30
years, believes it is impor
tant for those battling cancer
to hear as many success sto
ries as possible. She added
that medical advancements
are making success stories
I ? ? fc? ? ? I I
Phtrtos by Lay la Farmer
Brenda Sloan (second from right) poses with fellow
breast cancer survivors (from left ) Vina Johnson,
JoAnn Agnew and Etheleen Duckett.
more and more plentiful.
"We've got better sur
vival rates, better control of
the symptoms and people are
more open and talking about
it," she explained. 'Thirty
years ago, it was hush
hush. ..Now, people share
their stories and realize that
they're not alone and they
don't have to be alone."
During his remarks at the
celebration. Dr. Volker
Steiber thanked the survivors
for the strength and courage
they display in the face of
such adversity. Steiber,
whose mother is a cancer sur
vivor. pledged his ongoing
support to survivors as a
physician.
"I want to thank all of
you for inspiring all of us
(physicians) to go to work
every day to care for you," he
declared. "1 want you all to
know that we're here for you.
For the rest of your lives,
we're here to walk that jour
ney with you."
White
from page A1
White joined NBTF offi
cials at the Embassy Suites
Hotel as they announced the
full slate of productions that
will be staged at this year's
festival, which will run from
Aug. 1-6. White's show is
first on the schedule; it will
initially be staged immediate
ly after the celebrity-laden
Opening Night Gala. The
opening show is the most
coveted of all NBTF prizes.
White has already shown her
self more than worthy of the
spot.
She made her Festival
debut in 2001 with her one
woman tour de force autobio
graphical musical "From
Brooklyn to Broadway."
Hamlin was so impressed, he
invited her back in 2003 to
open that year's festival,
although some were skeptical
that a show of songs - even
from the iconic pipes of
White - could cut the mustard
as the Festival opener.
NBTF Media Relations
Director Brian McLaughlin
concedes that he was one of
those doubters before Hamlin
eased his apprehensions.
McLaughlin recalled an
exchange he had with Hamlin
soon after Hamlin had picked
White's "From Brooklyn to
Broadway II" to open the '03
NBTF.
"I said 'Larry are you
sure?' and he said, 'Brian, she
will shut it down!'"
Hamlin was right, as was
the case most of the time.
White left the crowd spell
bound, belting out everything
from Broadway standards to
an emotional cover of
"Human" by '80s pop group
Human League.
White says the new show
that she and Graphenreed are
preparing will again run the
musical gamut.
'There will be a mixture
... old and new ... popular
songs that we'll give a reggae
spin," she said.
If it can be done vocally,
few doubt that White can't do
it. She's one of the Great
White Way's few Quadruple
Crown winners - having
accepted Tony, Drama Desk,
Outer Critics Circle and The
People's Choice awards over
the course of her glorious 30
Photo b> Kevin Walker
Lillias While sits between Gerry Patton and Sylvia
Sprinkle-Hamlin (right).
plus year career. Most of the
honors came for her perform
ance as Sonja in 'The Life" in
1997. The late theater great
Cy Coleman created the role
for White after being thor
oughly blown away by her
more than a decade earlier
when he hired her for her
breakthrough role in
"Bamum."
Over the years, the roles
have kept coming for White
in hit productions like
"Dreamgirls," " Once on This
Island" and. most recently,
"Fela," for which she just
received a Tony nomination.
But White says there were
lean times in the beginning
when she considered giving
up her dreams of stardom and
returning to school to earn a
nursing degree to support her
self and her two children. But
she never had to hit the
books.
"I have been blessed to
sustain myself in this busi
ness," she said
Another obstacle, she
said, was juggling a burgeon
ing career with single-parent
ing, which at times was a dra
matic production all its own.
"I has been very much a
challenge ... parenting is not
a perfect science," said White,
whose now adult children
have given her four grandchil
dren.
While White's children are
fans of the arts, neither has
seriously aspired to follow
the immense path that mom
has walked. White knew
early-on that she wanted to
perform. Her first spotlight
was a kitchen light fixture,
under which she would sing
her heart out after Sunday din
ners.
"(My grandmother) would
put me up on the dinning
room table - that was my
first stage," White recalled.
White credits her faith -
which includes many aspects
practiced by the spiritual
Yoriiba people of West Africa
- for all that goes right in her
life, everything from being in
good voice when the curtain
rises to having her South
Carolina-born mother still
alive and kicking at 95-years
old.
"I pray. I meditate. I give
thanks," she said. "When you
give thanks for what you
have, more comes to you."
Among her prayers these
days is that some of the black
Hollywood talent who used
the stage as a springboard to
stardom will come back home
to create new opportunities
for other African Americans
in theater. She is thankful
that the National Black
Theatre Festival has been
there to fill what she calls a
great void in new, creative
black-oriented theater. White
says the Festival is promot
ing and inspiring a whole new
generation of talent.
'This festival is integral
in terms of getting people to
write, produce more ... be
more daring ... to do some
thing on the edge," she said.
Before Opening Night
Gala attendees see White
shine at the Stevens Center,
they will be witness to a star
studded awards show at the
Benton Convention Center.
Honorees will include
"Cooley High" and "A
Different World" actor Glynn
Turman, who will receive the
Sidney Poitier Lifelong
Achievement Award;
Playwrights Charles Smith
and Samm-Art Williams; and
soap opera legends Count
Stovall and James Reynolds,
whose nearly 30-year run on
"Days of Our Lives" makes
him the most tenured black
performer on a daytime
drama.
Gerry Patton, the execu
tive director of the N.C. Black
Repertory Company (which
stages the NBTF) says this
year's gala will be like no
other.
"We have so many touch
es of Broadway at this year's
gala," she said. " I suggest
you get your tickets now,
because it is going to sell
out."
The Opening Night Gala,
which includes admission to
the awards cetrnwnx. White's
petformemce and a celebrity
reception, begins at 5:30 p.tn .
Individual tickets are $255:
tables of 10 are $2,550. For
tickets and/ or a a full listing
of NBTF shows, go to
www.nbtf.org or call 336
723-2266.
Study
from /hi f;e A7
have included only a small
number of young adults,
making it difficult to draw
conclusions about that age
group.
Harris said that the high
rate of hypertension among
the Add Health study partici
pants was surprising.
Another widely cited and rep
utable study - the National
Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey, or
NHANES - reported a much
lower rate of hypertension (4
percent) for a similar age
group around the same time
period (2007-2008). Both
studies use the same defini
tion of hypertension: a blood
pressure reading of 140/90
mmHg (millimeters of mer
cury) or more.
"Our respective findings
may differ, but the message
is clear," said Harris. "Young
adults and the medical profes
sionals they visit shouldn't
assume they're not old
enough to have high blood
pressure. This is a condition
that leads to chronic illness,
premature death and costly
medical treatment.
"Our results show that
the processes that trigger
these problems begin early
in life, but they are prevent
able, so it's important to
check for hypertension now
ahd head it off at the pass, in
order to avoid these health
and societal costs later on,"
Harris said.
The Add Health study
also found males were much
more likely than females to
have hypertension (27 per
cent vs. II percent); and
young adults without a high
school degree were more
likely than their college-edu
cated peers to have the condi
tion (22 percent vs. 17 per
cent).
Water
from piiRt' A7
ALWAYS swim with
someone else - at least have
someone watching you while
you are swimming in case of
emergency
- Teach your chi liken not
to run. push, or jump over oth
ers near the water
- Learn the steps of Cardio
pulmonary Resuscitation
(CPR) - CPR has been shown
to save lives, when often it can
take a few minutes for para
medics to arrive. Your local
Red Cross offers these classes.
- Make sure you and your
family always use life vests
that are approved by the US
Coast Guard
- Avoid thinking alcohol
before swimming, boating or
other water sports.
- Inflatable floats are not
designed to keep swimmers
safe or save lives.
> Make sua- that you and
your family swim in sale areas
of rivers, lakes, and oceans
- Take yourself and your
family to swimming and water
safety classes - Most local
swimming pools and
YMCAs/YWCAs. as well as
some parks, offer these types
of classes.
- If someone is watching
your chi liken. make sure they
know how to swim, know
CPR, and have a telephone
close by for an emergency.
- If you have a pool at your
house, make sure that the area
is properly protected with
locked doors so that children
cannot go into the p<x>l with
out adult supervision.
- If you go to the beach,
make sure you do not ckift
away from shore when there is
a riptide
- If you do get caught in a
riptide, swim parallel to shore
and you will eventually swim
out of the riptide, and then you
can swim toward shore.
- Know the weather condi
tions before swimming or
boating on lakes, rivers or the
occan
Enjoy the North Carolina
summers with your family, but
do so using common sense and
by observing safety rules so
that this beautiful time does
not turn into a tragedy!
- Contribution b\ Sarah
Latgdon, MPH. CHES
Do you need further infor
mation or hm e questions or
comments ibout this article?
Please call toll-free 1-877-530
1824. Or, for more inform it ion
about the Maya An^elou
Center for Health Equity,
please visit our website:
http://wwwMfubmc.edu/MAC
hi:
Plate
from ptixe A7
is."
ChooseMyPlate.gov pro
vides practical information
to individuals, health profes
sionals, nutrition educators,
and the food industry to help
consumers build healthier
diets with resources and tools
for dietary assessment, nutri
tion education, and other
user-friendly nutrition infor
mation. As Americans are
experiencing epidemic rates
of obesity, the online
resources and tools can
empower people to make
healthier food choices for
themselves, their families,
and their children. Later this
year, USDA will unveil an
exciting "go-to" online tool
that consumers can use to
personalize and manage their
dietary and physical activity
choices.
"The new icon is simple
and easy to understand, with
more emphasis placed on
fruits and vegetables." said
Benjamin. "This new tool
can be a fun way to help
individuals and families
make healthier meal choices.
I encourage all Americans to
follow the new dietary guide
lines and become familiar
with the new icon because it
will serve as a compass to a
healthy and fit nation."
Over the next several
years. USDA will work with
the First Lady's Let'sMove!
initiative and public and pri
vate partners to promote
MyPlate and
ChooseMyPlate.gov as well
as the supporting nutrition
messages and "how-to"
resources.
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