WHAT'S • HAPPENING
Free Copy OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HIGH POINT MODEL CITY COMMISSION November 19,1971
Mae Tillman Rent Order Case
Goes to Court with CSS Help
MRS. MAE TILLMAN
Concentrated Social Services gives
families a shoulder to lean on w^hen
they need it.
Established in January through a
Model Cities Commission contract
with the Guilford County Department
of Social Services, the two - ofBce
agency in High Point has helped over
400 so far — families who need assist
ance in working out crisis problems.
These problems can be anything
from legal to financial to personal, and
are kept in strict confidence by the
25-odd Concentrated Social Services
(CSS) employes.
CSS is not a “welfare” program.
Rather, it works closely with the coun
ty public assistance office through the
Human Resources program to provide
counseling and referral services many
times overlooked because of time,
worker, and money shortages.
Ralph Cauthen, a trim, graying,
youthful man with positive ideas, is
director of the project. His 25 em
ployes are scattered among three
places: the Southside Neighborhood
Office on Vail Street, the primary loca
tion; the Daniel Rrooks community
building basement; and the downtown
office of the Guilford County De
partment of Social Services.
Jointly funded by Model Cities and
the county agency, CSS is for residents
of the Model Neighborhood area. In
each of the five neighborhoods, there
is a team of three to four workers
consisting of a homemaker, a social
service aid, and one or two social
workers.
These team members serve as con
tact persons in the Southside, Mace
donia, Spring Valley and Harrison-
Brockett neighborhoods.
“The main differences between our
set-up and that of the county office’s
are that we include a para-professional
person on our team” — a homemak
er — “and we try to get to the prob
lems before they start developing
seriously,” says Cauthen.
“Our contact persons pick up re-
Mrs. Mae Tillman has found some
one on her side.
On August 27 she entered High
Point Memorial Hospital for surgery
to remove varicose veins in both legs.
She was out of work from her job
at Phillips Foscue Company from
then until November 2, as a result.
For her rent period September 16-
October 15 her landlord, Menden-
hall-Moore Realtors, accepted a pay
ment voucher, or “rent order,” from
the county Department of Social Serv
ices.
ferrals, they find out what’s going on
in the field. It’s an outreach service.
. . . We don’t buy the attitude that
‘we’re here and the people know we’re
here, so we’ll wait for them to come
to us’.”
In helping families work out their
crises, CSS encounters such problems
as pregnancy, sickness, eviction, un
employment, placement of elderly cit
izens, and teenagers “in trouble.”
Whatever the problem, Cauthen and
his staff give personal attention to it,
and place the family in the right
direction.
“High Point has been very receptive
to us,” says Cauthen, “as have the
Social Services Department. Before,
they didn’t have time for a great deal
of personalized service because they
were overloaded, and tied down with
public assistance.
“People who needed attention were
often not eligible — they were either
not old enough, not young enough,
not poor enough. . . . Now, through
us, the state is doing a tremendous job
by making our services available to
anyone in the Model Neighborhood.
Not all are eligible for money, but
they are all eligible for services,” he
went on.
Here is an example of the type of
service CSS performs: A 16-year-old
high school junior is pregnant and she
wants to know what to do. She comes
to the Concentrated Social Services
Office and asks for help.
A counselor takes her aside and out
lines all her alternatives — keeping the
baby, giving it up for adoption, abor
tion. Should she decide to keep her
child, she would be sent to her per
sonal doctor or to a clinic for pre
natal care. If the girl were unable to
afford the medical treatments, CSS
would make financial arrangements
for her.
However, should she decide to
terminate her pregnancy, she is dis
couraged against trying to obtain an
illegal abortion.
Because Mrs. Tillman was still un
able to raise her $60 rent for the
October-November period, she re
quested another rent order from the
county agency.
The promise-to-pay statement was
issued to Mendenhall-Moore again.
This time, however, they refused to
accept it. Mrs. Tillman was faced
with eviction.
It was this dilemma that Mae Till
man took to the Concentrated Social
Services staff.
Mrs. Tillman, who lives apart from
“We’ve seen too many serious med
ical problems caused by illegal abor
tions,” says Cauthen. “So when a girl
decides in favor of a therapeutic abor
tion we work with her to see that it’s
legal and sanitary.”
The office at 208 Vail Street is open
from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through
Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sat
urday, Besides the services already
mentioned, CSS offers what Cauthen
describes as “special things.”
One of these “special things” is a
telephone reassurance service for the
elderly. Volunteers call nearly 60 sen
ior citizens on a regular basis to check
on them, as well as give them personal
contact. If they don’t answer, some
one from the telephone pool is sent in
person to their home.
A homemaker service is also avail
able for persons who cannot clean
house or cook for themselves for rea
sons of sickness, arthritis or some
other crippling factor, or old age.
Twenty elderly Model Neighborhood
residents are being provided with a
her husband, had rented from Men
denhall-Moore since 1967. Only once
within that time was she late in her
rent payment, she said.
She has five children, three of whom
still live at home. They are aged 14,
13 and 12.
Mrs. Tillman was on public assist
ance once, when she and her husband
broke up. But for the most part, she
has been on her own.
“I’ve been making my own way, and
I’m telling you. I’ve seen some hard
days. But I’ve made it,” she says
proudly.
She moved into her current home
at 1407 Furlough Street two years
ago. It is a four-room frame house
that is very hard to heat, according
to its occupant. No utilities are in
cluded in the rent.
During her recent convalescence
she had no income whatever to meet
her bills. With no one else to turn to,
she went to the Daniel Brooks office
of Concentrated Social Services.
“They tell me that’s what these
agencies are there for,” said Mrs.
Tillman. “In a case like my case, it
sure was good to have somebody.
“I try not to be a bother to anybody
unless I have to. It was nice to have
someone to turn to.”
Mrs. Tillman, who is like several
other tenants in the past whose land
lords refused to accept the Social
Services’ rent order, was the first in
High Point to agree to go to court
with her case.
Legal Aid Office lawyer Ken Glus-
man was retained on Mrs. Tillman’s
behalf, and on November 4 they ap
peared in Small Claims Court to pro
test Mendenhall-Moore’s refusal to
take the rent order.
The court ruled in favor of the real
tor. Glusman then prepared to appeal
the eviction ruling, and to challenge
the constitutionality of the state law
requiring tenants fighting eviction to
post bond equal to at least three
months’ rent.
(Continued on Page 2)
(CMitinued on Page 2)
Citizen Participation Goes
To Franklin Street Home
Citizen Participation has new headquarters.
Since November 2, Milt Stallings and his Citizen Participation Outreach
staff have been housed at 1305 Franklin Street.
The single-story house replaces the CP office at the Model Cities Com
mission building, 609 S. Main Street.
The purpose of his office, according to Stallings, is “to reach more people
in the Model Neighborhood, inform them of our services, and get people
involved in the Model Cities process.”
In addition to the director, the office is staffed by Chris Hubbard, Ronald
Dawson, Frank Walls, and Jeannette LeGrande. A secretary is also to be hired.
Regular operating hours for the Franklin Street location are 8:30 a.m. to
5 p.m, Monday through Friday. However, workers do have assignments for
evening community work, and arrangements can be made for evening meetings.
Task Force and community meetings will be scheduled for the office, as
well as workshops and the Regional IV council.
Open house for the new headquarters will be held Tuesday, November 30,
from 4 to 6 p.m. The public is invited.
Provides ^Overlooked’ Services
Concentrated Social Services-
When A Family Has A Crisis