Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / May 5, 1983, edition 1 / Page 13
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the magazlr Winston-Salem Chroniclc Project Upward B budget axe, strugg i By SAM DA VIS ... Contributor Emphasizing self-help, Project Upward Bound has enabled thousands of high school underachieves become better prepared to face the future. Yet, despite the success rate of Upward Bound students in improving their grades and obtaining admission to college, Reaganomics may spell the program's demise. If President Reagan has his way, the 444 Upward Bound programs currently funded by the government will be cut to 175. In the meantime, the 14-year-old Winston-Salem Upward Bound program, based on the campus of I Winston-Salem State University, continues to add to its hii^icssivc 11av.1v icvuiu. 44 We take students with C and D averages who have the potential to become A and B students," says Mrs. Addie Hymes, the program's director. "We look for talented students who are not on a postsecondary track." Mrs. Hymes has been the director of the WinstonSalem program since 1976. During her tenure, all of the students who have remained in the program through their senior years in high school have graduated. ' : : .. .:: V One Of His Michael Lockett, sometime drummer, sometime ai by James Parker). f-fartnv Mill Garth By EDWARD HILL JR. Staff Writer This article Is the fifth In a series spotlighting neighborhoods In the black community The Happy Hill Gardens neighborhood has an im' age problem. When its name is mentioned, the first picture that usually comes to mind is an unsafe, high-crime area. But the community's residents argue that the stigma is unfair. "Sure, there are a few crimes out here," admits Mahala Wilkins, who has lived in the 1200 block of Foster Street for 26 years. 44But when they track the crimes down, they find out it was someone who does not live in Happy Hill Gardens who committed the crimes. I think a lot of the talk about crime in Happy Hill Gardens comes from people on the outside who know very little about the community." "Most of our problems out here have to do with unemployment or people on welfare," says Sarah Webster, who has lived on Willow Street for 18 years. "People in Happy Hill Gardens aren't committing all these crimes; it's people who come over in this area." Happy Hill Gardens, which is somewhat isolated ' and resembles an encampment, is surrounded by Waughtown, Mock Street and Old Salem. Its housing consists of government-subsidized units and a few private homes. And its residents are mostly low-income and working-class people, many of whom receive public assistance. "I would say it is a community of people striving <4 ie section Features, Sport ound dodging ;ling to survive "In the seven years I've been with the program, 122 participants have graduated from high school/' says Mrs. Hymes. "Of this number, 20 have graduated from college or vocational-technical schools, 72 are presently enrolled in post-secondary institutions and 21 are gainfully employed." Upward Bound is funded through the TRIO Program of the Department of Education. TRIO was established in 1968 out of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and Title IV program for Student Assistance. The purposes of the TRIO Program are: l)to identify individuals from low-income families, 2)prepare them for post-secondary education, 3)provide them with special supportive services and 4)train those persons so they will become successful in programs so designed. "Upward Bound's main objective is to increase the academic progress of youth who have academic potential, but have not produced results", says Mrs. Hymes. "Another of the program's functions is to assist participants in acquiring the skills neccessary to gain admission to college." "Thirdly", she adds, "the program is designed to motivate students to develop the habits to become^ successful in college or career pursuits." Please see page 16 :A:S::: ;v > y --vV:.;; l:s:::;: l": :;' I , ! B & w H .J"14 . ^ x i$\ i?ffe^i|9flK'-^? ^BB^^^^Sw^iBBifesiiBiK'^iSw^^*1 *" Creations rtist, displays one of his cartoon creations (photo ms residentsfeel t to have a better life," says Alderman Virginia Newell. "Most of them have not been able to get jobs and they become victims because they do not have the regular skills. It is particularly tough on the kids because of the negative stigma attached to Happy Hill Gardens.** Happy Hill Gardens was constructed almost 32 years ago and has undergone very little change since that time. There are approximately 488 residents who live in one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom housing. Rent, which ranges from $0 to $200 a month, is paid on a sliding scale based on family size and income. "People in Happy Hill Gardens aren 7 committing all these crimes; it's people who come over here in this area." - Sarah Webster But Happy Hill Gardens Manager Geraldine Davis says there has been at least one change. "Modernization has taken,place in Happy Hill Gardens," says Ms. Davis, who has managed the complex for 12 years. "There has been work done on the units in the past few years,'* Despite the many economic problems that plague the people of Happy Hill Gardens, there are sufficient activities to keep the different groups busy. Among them are a nutritional program that accommodates 60 senior citizens daily, Boy and Oirl Scout troops, a library program in the projects and an Experiment in Self-Reliance Outreach Program. "The ESR program has been of great value to the people over here in Happy Hill for many years," says Patricia McCants, who has been a Housing Authori T wammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmrnammmmmmm s, Lifestyle ' * fljjj Tiny Da Makeda Sallh, 6, (left) and Franclnda Manna, 8, nr African ballet during laat week's program at The Loft claaa and Archie Bell, formerly of Archie Bell and th Parker). Young And Gifted He s an artist in m< By ROBIN ADAMS Staff Writer Michael Lockett doesn't remember this, but when he was 3 years old, he used to sit in the bottom of his mother's cabinets and beat on the pots and pans. At 11, he still enjoys beating out a tune, but now Michael does it with a set of drums. Michael, a sixth-grade student at Walkertown Elementary School, plays in the bands at both The North Carolina School of the Arts and his elementary school. "I started playing the drums last year," Michael says. "Everybody in my family, except my mom, playi the drums.** In addition to his drum playing, Michael likes playing baseball, going fishing and swimming and spelling. Because he enjoys working on and designing projects, social studies and science are his favorite school subjects. The youngest of three children, Michael admits to being spoiled, but that is one of only a few things he*ll admit to. He*s shy and reserved and not very * ? ? _ comfortable wnen taiKing or nis accompusnmenis. "When I think that Michael has done something really great,'* says Michael's mother, Mrs. Erlene Lockett, "Micheal just calls it old hat. "He is a very private person who only opens up on his own terms. He's a deep thinker." One way Michael has found to express some of his talents is with his drawings. "He can sit for hours slighted by stigma ty home health aide there for eight years. "They've conducted budget workshops, job workshops and classes on upholstering." The Housing Authority also has a house managing department at the complex that conducts rummage sales and sets up food and clothing banks and other support programs for residents. The Happy Hill Recreation Center, although not located immediately in Happy Hill Gardens, offers swimming, baseball, basketball and other activities for youth in the projects and surrounding areas. And, because many of the women who live in Happy Hill Gardens have young children, the day care center there has been a godsend. "Most of the parents are on partial payment,** says day care center director Charletta Patterson. "They pay what they can afford. As long as they are either students or are working, the DSS (Department of Social Services) will pay. It gives them a chance to work or finish their education." Mrs. Patterson says most of her staff members live in Happy Hill. Politically, Mrs. Wilkins says the area suffers from / apathy. "We just cannot get the 18- to 25-year-olds to understand the importance of registering to vote," says Mrs. Wilkins, who is a member of the Happy Hill uaraens Kesiacms Luunui ?uiu is ?u,uvc ill iiic Democratic precinct. "When you try to stress it upon them, you get funny looks and reactions. It is very frustrating." Residents agree that the most pressing problems in the area are the congested parking, below-standard recreational facilities and drink houses and "houses of ill-repute" which, they say, draw undesirables to the neighborhood. : Please see page 16 he Chronicle, Thursday, May 5, 1983-Page 13 s Thursday, May 5, 1983 I k " -M#$?;K ' S l ^j|Pfl -^ik H H <! iipi?^ >. rara?::-: . ncers lembers of an Otesha Dance Class, perform an : Space. The show featured members of the dance e Drells, as an added attraction (photo by James )re ways than one and draw," Mrs. Lockett says. "And he is so detailed with his drawings." Michael's drawings are not ordinary fare for an 11-year-old. He likes to create comic book characters, but he seldom copies drawings of characters he has seen in other comic books. Instead, he usually makes up his own line of characters. At his mother's insistence, Michael goes to his room and brings back a thick drawing pad. When he opens the book, creatures from the deep of the ocean and far-away galaxies appear on its pages. "His favorite character is Neutron Man, who has the power to transform matter into other mysterious forms. Neutron Man, like all of Michael's other characters, is drawn with an overabundance?of^ muscles, scant clothing and exotic weapons. Michael's love for the supernatural also makes him a fan of science fiction and horror stories and, as his mother puts it, "a devout 'Star Wars' follower." When asked what one thing he would like to do more than anything else, Michael has a difficult time choosing. But after a few minutes of serious thinking, he says, "I would like to go to the moon." Not as an astronaut, mind you. Merely as a visitor. "There have only been three people to visit the moon and 1 would like to make it four," Michael says. Michael and his classmates in the sifted and talented program at his school also dabble in the newspaper field, publishing a newspaper called, believe it or not, the Enquirer. Please see page 16 PP^K^B^^, ^MHMHES*?*?^itelJBRvl^R Aa one of the firit persons to move Into Happy Hill Gardens, William Sims Is regarded as the official neighborhood historian (photo by James Parker).
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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May 5, 1983, edition 1
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