WHAT'S# HAPPENING
Free Copy OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HIGH POINT MODEL CITY COMMISSION July?, 1972
(L-R) CHARLOTTE HOPE, MARY F. BARNES, HELEN SPENCER,
MARY J. DAVIS
Model Cities Paving Way
For Community Development
A ^First’ In The State
Day Care For Elderly Open
Federal concepts of domestic spend
ing are changing. All signs from
Washington point to the step-up of a
process called Community Develop
ment, in which programs will be plan
ned and operated under two- and
three-year agreements with cities
throughout the country.
a head start in building a system in
which Community Development will
work.
In High Point, specifically, citizens
have come together more than ever
before to discuss problems such as
housing, employment and health since
the beginning of the local Model City
Mrs. Helen Spencer of 706 Tate
Street has a “first” in her home.
Hers is the first day care center for
the elderly not only in High Point,
but in North Carolina.
Day care for the elderly is a project
of Concentrated Social Services, a
Model Cities agency. The idea grew
out of a need to take care of older
people during the day.
Many elderly persons, it was found,
live with a married son or daughter
and can take care of themselves to a
certain extent. But they just need
someone around to see that they eat
properly, take their medicine, stay
busy, and so forth.
In other cases, older people stay by
themselves at night, but need some at
tention during the day.
All of these people are alert and
are not bedridden; they simply need
company and at least some part-time
special care from an able-bodied adult.
When Mrs. Spencer read about the
agency’s proposed project in this news
paper, she called them and asked to
be considered as an operator of such
a center.
women begin to arrive. Their day ends
around 4:30 p.m.
MONTHLY ALLOWANCE
For each of Mrs. Spencers wards,
she is paid a monthly allowance by
Concentrated Social Services. Out of
that she buys food for their snacks
and noon meal, and materials for their
handiwork, on which they spend
many contented hours.
Mrs. Spencer’s front bedroom is
filled with potholders, pillows, slip
pers, aprons and other items the
women have sevra. One important fac
tor in the day care concept is to keep
these older people busy and produc
tive.
The happiest element in bringing
these women together every day, how
ever, is the comfort of having com
pany, and not having to be alone.
“I told them one day that if they
wanted to take a nap, there was
plenty of room and maybe it would
refresh them,” said Mrs. Spencer.
“And do you know what? They all
said no, they wanted to stay up, might
methine!