Work Force
from page AI
those who leave the welfare rolls for
the workforce. But Rickard says her
transition from welfare to work was
not a smooth one. She says she rap
into problems with her Medicaid
benefits, child care service and rent
payments
Rickard says she saw an almost
$420 increase in her rent after she
notified the Winston-Salem Hous
ing Authority that she was
employed. She said her $7 an hour
job as a dietary aide, was just not
enough to pay the rent and other
expenses In order to get her rent
? batjk down to $122, Rickard says
she had to quit her job.
"1 had no choice but to quit. I
couldn't see any other way out of
it," she said.
Rickard said a number of
women have made the choice. She is
no longer eligible for welfare bene
fits and now must rely on relatives
to help with her bills
But many enrolled in welfare
reform programs across the nation
are eligible for exemption periods
where rent payments are frozen for
up to 18 months after residents
Ivmn vnirLino
Cleveland Avenue Homes resi
dent Tonya Bennett said that after
her rent jumped from $59 to $239
she wasn't informed that she could
be eligible for the 18-month freeze
period.
i i was doing better before I
started working because I had every
thing at a level where I could take
care of it." Bennett said.
; Bennett says that just recently a
housing manager told her about the
exemption, saying that it was brand
new and that she would be one of
the first in the community on-the
program.
But HAWS officials received
notice of the exemptions from the
Department of Housing and Urban
Development as early as January
1998. according to Section 8 Man
ager Karen Young. A reminder
notice was sent oitC^rft Dec. 14,
Young said.
Young - who spoke on behalf of
Housing Management Supervisor
Fulton Meachem who is on vaca
tion; - said she was unaware of
whether information about; the
exemptions were distributed to indi
vidual managers.
She did say that the agency was
aware that some tenants may be eli
gible for the 18-month freeze but are
instead paying higher rent.
It is a problem she says the
Photo by T Kevin Walker
Chorion* Kkkard point* to Iho the oanmd for completing Work
foot. Since graduating from Mm program, Kkkard ha* faced a number of tot
frffffrf.
agency is actively trying to fix.
She said the problem occurred
because tenants did not tell HAWS
officials they were in the Work First
program.
"We are in the process of work
ing with Work First to see what res
idents qualify," Young said.
But Wofk First Committee
member and County Commissioner
Walter Marshall says the mistakes
made by HAWS are unexcusable.
"How would the housing
authority not know that residents
were in the program," Marshall
asked at a Work First Committee
meeting Monday.
Marshall said he has documen
tation proving that HAWS knew
that some residents were in Work
First but still raised their rent pay
ments
Marshall was scheduled to meet
with HAWS Executive Director J.
Reid Lawrence late yesterday after
The Chronicle s press time.
Marshall, also has concerns
about the Work First Committee on
which he sits. Each county has a
committee, which makes recom
mendations to Work First officials
in the Department of Social Ser
vices.
Marshall says the committee -
which is overwhelmingly white -
may not be fully aware of the prob
lems many of the women in the pro
gram face.
"I know the problems, I've had
people in my family (on welfare). We
don't need to be giving pats on the
back, we need to find out what's
happening to people being taken off
of welfare," Marshall said.
No state law requires that former
welfare recipients sit on Work First
committees. Marshall said that the
local committee appointed two for
mer recipients only after he insisted
on it. ?
Marshall says that he will meet
fv
with the women who signed the peti
tion to gauge exactly what their
problems are.
v Rickard said the Work First offi
cials have shot down proposals that
some women in the program have
suggested. For example, Rickard
said that many women could not
find jobs that paid at least $7 an
hour within Winston-Salem.
Rickard said when a group of
women asked for vans to transport
them to Greensboro, they were
turned down.
A proposal to apply for federal
dollars to start a community-based
business was also given the thumbs
down by Work First officials,
Rickard said.
Work First Program Manager
for Forsyth County Bobbi Bales
spoke to The Chronicle briefly after
Mondays meeting, but calls to her
ofTice for additional information
were not returned by press time
Wednesday morning.
Bales said that she has heard
about the list of women circulating
around around public housing com
munities, but that she wasn't sure
who was on the list or what their
particular grievances are
Bales says that many recipients
think that welfare reform is unfair
and aren't pleased with any aspect of
the Work First program.
"Some people just don't want to
be a part of (welfare reform)," Bales
said.
But Rickaid disagrees She says
that an overwhelming majority of
those on welfare want to wo? but
they don't want to go hungry in the
process
... "After we pay this higher rent,
there is no money left for
food...They cut our food stamps or
take them away as soon as we get
jobs They are hurting us more than
they are helping us," Rickard said.
Meeting
from page A!
Three assistant superinten
dents did however attend the meet
ing to show the' system's commit
ment io adequately educate
African Americans
After the meeting, Assistant
Superintendent Edna Crews said
that Martin shared some of the
group's goals, such as more minor
ity teachers and equitable disci
pline for black students
Eversley also faulted the
school board for ignoring public
concern before creating the redis
tricting plan and county residents
for refusing to elect blacks to at;
large seats on the board.
"We know we have a racist
school board...We live in a red
neck, racist, backwoods, reac
tionary territory," he said.
For the two African Americans
on the school board, the Caucus
will provide them with a forum to
.hear voices from the community
whenever they don't see eye-to-eye
on a particular issue.
Both Geneva Brown and Vic
tor Johnson attended Tuesday's
meeting. Brown praised those who
packed the church.
"It's a good sign," she said
about the large turnout. "It's time
for us to do something."
In order to form different com
mittees, Caucus members broke
up into mini groups. The Caucus
will have nine different sections,
including groups for parents,
teachers, pastors, business leaders
and legal professionals. Although
business was the top priority at the
meeting it also had a noticeable
undertone of spirituality, which
Pholoe by T Kevan Walter
Among 0n?? wto udiiiifcd lh? umiig nwlaryHricfc, farlmft. Rrnid*, fMmd
a tUm againtt th* ttatm uyukut Htm ABC ??<aig piugmn
was apparent from the beginning
of the meeting when Eversley led
the crowd through a rousing ver
sion of "Lift Every .Voice and
Sing" to the end when the audi
ence sang "We Shall Overcome."
A ?
Eversley said after the meeting,
that the religious base will help the
group in the long run.
"Because we have a church
base, (the Caucus') spirit is not
going to run out," he said.
The Caucus will meet the first
Tuesday of each month at
Dellabrook. The NAACP. plans to
pursue the lawsuit against the
school system as early as March.
The Rev. Carlton Bvertley led TOetday'? meeting of the education
C?aw.
KVSfSVTSIB
H W
~ The INorth Carolina Black Repertory Compafl^^H|
Larry Leon Hamlin
Executive & Artistic Director 4
..'? v ? % v. v ?
? \ t/te
?. - - ?? '
14th Annual
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Birthday Celebration
v . r .. ? x- . ' *' 7
\ Friday, January 15, 1999
7:00 PM
" * . ? ?
Arts Council Theatre
610 Coliseum Drive
Winston-Salem
" ?\. ? ? . ? ? i*
Featuring
Sharon Frazier
Rev. John Heath
Bill Jackson
Randy Johnson
Elliott Lowery
Joe Robinson s
Janice Price
And a special presentation by Larry Leon Hamlin
Special Youth Appearances by
Bethany Heath
Todd Nelson
Boss Drummers of Winston-Lake YMCA
Travia and the Artistic Studio
Admission if free but reservations are recommended.
Call (336)723-2266
Between 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
for reservations & information.
I |^NCBRC^s^undedjT)em|^^