Mass Meeting Planned
Chairman Urges Tenants To Unify
Know Your Rights
PART n OF A SERIES
If my husband and I agree to a separa
tion, and I want to get our affairs cleared
up in the simplest way, what kind of agree
ment should we use?
The simplest form of separation papers is
a contract called “separation agreement and
property settlement.” Any lawyer who does
family work can prepare this sort of contract
for a couple, if either the husband or the
wife or both goes to him.
What can a “separation agreement” do
for us?
Usually four things can be settled in
this type of agreement:
1. During marriage the wife or husband
has an ownership interest in any p«^rty
the other buys or acquires. The agreement
will end this arrangement and allow each
person to buy and sell and acquire property
of any kind on his or her own without
the other being able to claim any interest
in what is acquired.
2. During marriage the husband and wife
are expected to refrain from dating or going
with persons of the opposite sex. The agree
ment may end this requirement.
3. The agreement can divide up all the
property owned by the couple before they
separated, and decide who pays the bills and
debts of the marriage. For instance, the con
tract may say that the wife gets to keep
the furniture, and the husband keeps the
car and pays all the outstanding bilb. Even
a lot of property can be divided up in
this manner.
4. The agreement may state who has
custody of the children, and exact amount
of child support that will be paid by the
one who does not keep them.
Do I have to go to court to get this
done?
No. It is a private agreement. Both the
husband and the wife must consent and
sign. This can all be done in the lawyer’s
ofRce. However, if one of the parties fails
to live up to the bargain, you can go to
court to enforce the tenns of the contract.
NDP To Be
(Continued from Page 1)
lowing improvements:
• Street lights will be installed
along Cross Street and sections of
Lanford Avenue and Grayson Street;
• Water lines will be laid along
the same streets;
• Sanitary sewer line will be laid
along Cross Street;
• The same streets will be paved;
• A minimum of 24 townhouses
will be built along Elizabeth Street
north and south of the present route
of Redding Drive and Grayson Street;
• Homeowners in that section \vill
be given rehabilitation grants of up
to $3500 to improve their houses.
Martin also pointed out that much
of the outside work, estimated to
begin no later than February 1, will
depend upon the weather. Many oth
er unforeseen factors could also cause
delays.
LAND ACQUIRED
In the meantime, the Redevelop
ment Commission has acquired or
have option on about 50 percent of
the land necessary for the construc
tion of the new townhouse dwellings.
They are also inspecting homes eli
gible for the rehabilitation grants.
Engineering plans, as well, are be
ing drawn up for the street paving
project, for which bids must be ad
vertised and awarded. This process,
Martin said, would probably take un
til mid-January.
Moore, reflecting the disappoint
ment of many of Southside residents,
said the Resident Review Committee
A meeting of all High Point public
housing residents is scheduled for
Tuesday and Wednesday, November
14 and 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Daniel
Brooks Recreation Center.
At that meeting, tenants will dis
cuss basic problems they have had
as residents of public housing units.
Resolutions growing out of these two
nights will be presented and dis
cussed in depth at the unity con
ference planned for December, men
tioned below.
Both series are being sponsored by
the Resident Council Association, a
group of representatives from each
of the public housing tenants coun
cils. Ms. Harmon is chairman of the
city-wide organization.
To the editor:
Some time in December the Res
ident Council Association will sponsor
a unity conference of public housing
tenants.
The conference theme will be “Un
ity In Our Community and Prob
lems of Living in Public Housing.”
The initial thrust of this mass tenants’
meeting is being directed by public
housing tenants themselves, who be
lieve that without unified action on
the part of those who are affected
most, then solutions will go wanting
to such problems as rent inequalities,
management, inadequate and poor
social services, recreation, mainte
nance, and other general facilities.
We need to agree on the basic prob
lems we have as tenants, and further,
Implemented
will continue to function and to expe
dite the carrying out of the NDP.
“We’ve come too far to turn around
now,” he said.
The membership of the committee,
organized by Model Cities, is ex
pected to be increased in number
by the newly-elected Commissioners
from the neighborhood. An invitation
to those who expressed an interest by
running in the September Model
Cities election will also be issued,
according to Moore.
we need to decide upon how we can
best work to solve these common
problems.
Some people have told us that we
must “wait until we get ourselves to
gether” before we attempt this mass
meeting. But then there are many who
believe we cannot wait any longer
to get action on the conditions we
endure and suffer as poor people in
public housing. We have to begin
now to organize ourselves to make
the diff^erence between an impover
ished existence and better conditions
for all our people.
Finally, we recognize that unless
poor people in general who live in
public housing begin to act positively
and directly to deal with our prob
lems, then no one else will. We must
begin to take charge of our own
affairs and our own needs to insure
our own survival as a people.
The one thing we can do is to meet
and discuss together the basic prob
lems. We must take advantage of this
right and unify! We must do this or
we won’t be able to do anything as
individuals because the powers we
are up against will “beat us down”
and destroy us.
This conference has been planned
with a view toward the future. The
work we have begun to do to unify
ourselves within public housing is only
a first and basic step in the direction
of unifying poor working people
throughout High Point.
At the meeting, basic problems
which have been identified by public
Mix-Up
In the October 13 edition of What’s
Happening, the pictures of Gregory
Hinson and Ralph Spencer were
mixed up and incorrectly identified.
Hinson’s name appeared under Spen
cer’s picture, and vice versa, on a page
headed “What’s Happening on Wash
ington Street.”
Apologies to these two men for
the error.
housing residents will be presented
to Housing Authority officials, as well
as resolutions and suggestions for
action. Methods for solving these prob
lems, we hope, will also grow out of
our cooperative efforts.
Tenants should realize that through
an ongoing organization made up of
poor people like themselves, that we
can get things done.
-JUDY HARMON
President,
Clara Cox Homes Tenants
Council, and Chairman,
Resident Council Association
Opinions expressed in letters fo the
editor are the sole responsibility of the
persons who sign them, and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of this
newspaper or of the Model City Com
mission.
Youthful Counselors
Help Teenagers
(Continued from Page 1)
Sometimes no one has ever shown a
real interest in them before.”
A series of weekend retreats for
girls is also being planned. The same
10 girls will go away together with
Ms. Botts to “get to know one another
and have a fun time, besides making
an added step toward trust and friend
ship.”
“You and the Law” is a program be
ing spearheaded by Ms. Williams in
the High Point city schools. “The
school system has been very enthusi
astic and extremely cooperative” in
the establishment of this five-week
course for seventh-graders, she said.
The course, which will incorporate
speakers from the courts, police de
partment and law field, is similar to
one sponsored by the Red Cross in
Greensboro public schools.
Director Timberlake is optimistic
that Youth Services Bureau is becom
ing known as a resource to help young
people solve some of their emotional,
social, and personal problems. He is
negotiating with the Mental Health
Department for psychological services
to enhance his staffs capabilities.
“The more involved you get, the
less inclined a kid is to do something
to let you down,” explained Ms. Botts.
“But you have to be ready for dis
appointments, too.”
So far, however, the staff is quick
to agree that there are more joys than
disappointments.
WHATS HAPPENING is published
bimonthly by the Model City Com
mission of High Point, North Carolina,
William S. Bencini, Mayor; Dr. Otis
E. Tillman, Commission Chairman;
Don J. Fomey, Past Director; Wayne
S. Pray, Acting Director; Cecil A.
Brown, Information and Evaluation
Specialist. Offices of the agency are
located at 609 S. Main St, High Pc^,
N. C. 27260. Telephone 885-9081.
The preparation of this magazine
and its free distribution were financially
aided and made possible through a
federal grant from the United States
Department of Housing and Urban
Development under Title I of the
Demonstration Cities and Metrq;M)Ltan
Act of 1966.
Editor Emily Hedridc
Here’s An Agency Directory
Got a problem? There’s probably a Model Cities agency that can help
you solve it. Listed below are some of the agencies planned and funded
by Model Cities. Their services are free to Model Neighborhood residents.
Call today, and learn how these products of the Model Cities process can
benefit you!
Community Mental Health 882-4523
Youth Services Bureau 886-5181
Sickle Cell Outreach 886-7436
Comprehensive Manpower 885-2215
Sheltered Workshop - 883-2716
Vocational Rehabilitation 885-6811
Drug Day Program 882-2125
Comprehensive Community Child Care 885-0161
Consumer Credit Counseling 885-0041
Business Development Corp. 885-0141
Central Relocation 883-7171
Cultural Arts 885-0759
Concentrated Social Services 885-0121 or 883-2611
Elizabeth Street Health Center 885-4826