No Barriers
Housing Authority scholarship program applauds residents working hard to better themselves
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE j
Public housing residents who are
striving to elevate themselves
through higher education were hon
** ored last Thursday.
Housing Authority of Winston
Salem (HAWS) officials feted men
i and wpmen in the agency's LEAD
(Learn. Educate. Advance. Degree.)
program during a meeting at
HAWS' downtown headquarters.
Started by HAWS last year,
LEAD is' a tuition assistance pro
gram designed to help remove
financial obstacles that public hous
ing residents have to attaining high- <
er education. .
? At least 75 residents have
enrolled in LEAD, 35 of whom are
currently enrolled in schools, said
Candace Edwards, who created the
program using a grant from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). Before
LEAD, Edwards said, many public
housing residents were dropping out
of college because they couldn't
afford to continue.
"What we found ... was that
-people were already in school, they
just needed a way to help pay for
what they were already doing," she
said.
LEAD helped Clarissa. Brydie
complete a certified nurse's aide
course at Guilford Technical
Community College. Brydie was
honored at the ceremony. She also,
accepted an award on behalf of her
daughter. Jasmin Keesley, a LEAD
student attending ' Clemson
University. Keesley was honored for
earning a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Both
Byrdie and her daughter are resi
dents of Piedmont Park.
, "I think it's awesome ... I was
* able to get help for myself and my
daughter, coming out of a situation,
moving to another state with basi
cally no means at all," said Byrdie,
who is now gainfully employed as a
nurse's aide.
Jahid Ross, also a Piedmont
Park resident, was also honored for
having a GPA above 3.0. He's
studying to become a nurse at
Winston-Salem State University.
Ross said that LEAD is making his
education possible. He was not able
to qualify for loans or scholarships
and was dealt another blow when he
lost his job. His housing manager
told him about LEAD.
Other awardees included Rexx
Jenkins, who completed certified
nurse's aide courses and Tanya
Mason, who completed the Triad
Community Kitchen's Culinary Arts
Skills program. Tyeesha Mosby
received an award for having a 3.0
GPA or higher. Elsie Edwards, YokO
Odom, Ryan Evans and Norman
Williams all were honored for hav
ing a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
LEAD participants can receive
up to $10,000 a year for school. The
program has already doled out
$75,000. LEAD Coordinator Tineta
Brown said HAWS is "actively, dili
gently" seeking more funding so.
that the program can continue indef
initely. She said with LEAD partici
pants achieving an average GPA of
3.2, the program is getting a good
return on its investment in students.
Brown, a single mother who got
her bachelor's degree while living in
public housing, takes great pride in
the success of LEAD students.
"It means the world to me, it
Clarissa Brydie hold her award and
one for her daughter.
really does ... I can attest first-hand
to what struggles and some of the
economic and financial barriers that
these people encounter everyday,"
she said.
During the meeting, LEAD par
ticipants also heard from represen
tatives from the College Foundation
of North Carolina and The Winston
Salem Foundation, both of whom
shared information about college
scholarships and other education
funding sources. They also heard a
motivational speech from local
media personality Manard "Buster"
Brown, who told LEAD participants
that what they were doing to better
themselves is truly inspiring.
"You've dreamed yourself
beyond your circumstances," said
Brown.
Photos by Todd Luck
Tanya Mason accepts her award from HAWS' Candace Edwards.
Nursing student Jahid Ross.
LEAD Coordinator Tineta Brown speaks.
Lasana Hotep
Hotep to give
MLK address
at NC A&T
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Author/educator Lasana
Hotep will be the keynote
speaker for North Carolina
A&T State University's
annual Martin Luther King
Jr. Commemorative
Celebration.
The event will be held
Thursday, January 19 at 7
p.m., in Harrison
Auditorium. It is free and
open to the public.
Hotep is the founder,
principal owner and lead
consultant ? of Hotep
Consultants. He currently
serves as a speaker and con
sultant for the Harbor
Institute, an education com
pany based out of
Washington, D.C. The phe
nomenal speaker has con
tributed to numerous publi
cations such as "African
American Men in College,"
"The State of Black
Arizona," "Be a Father to
Your Child: Real Talk from
Black Men of the Hip Hop
Generation" and the "Black
Male Health Handbook: A
Blueprint for Physical,
Mental, and Spiritual Health
and Wellness."
He started and coordinat
ed the African American Men
Student Success (AAMSS)
program at Arizona State
University in Tempe, Ari.
Graduate students from
across the country sample
and study the program to
complete their doctoral
research on recruitment,
retention and graduation of
African-American males.
A I J . . . 1 II ... t
a woria traveler, notep s
diverse airay of experiences
gives him a broad perspec
tive of the challenges and
issues that people of color
face throughout the world.
Hotep is completing his
doctorate in U.S. History at
Arizona State University. He
is also working with world
renowned filmmaker Spike
Lee and examining the
effects of the motion picture
industry on African
American males and their
portrayal in the entertain
ment industry, v.
City to present MLK Dreamer Awards Tuesday
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The City Council and the
Unman Dulatmnc
iiuinuii i\v.iauuin
Commission will
honor two city
residents as the
2012 recipients of
the Martin Luther
King Jr. Young
Dreamers Award
at the City
Council meeting
on Tuesday,
Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. at
City Hall, 101 N.
Main St.
The Young Dreamers
Awards honor two emerging
or proven young adult city
residents between the ages
of 18 and 40 who have made
a tangible difference in the
?i .t __ i
lives 01 inose wno
otherwise might
have been over
looked, ignored, or
disadvantaged.
This year's
honors go to Rev.
Russell May, 32, a
co-founder of
Anthony's Plot, a
community min
istry in the
Sunnyside area;
and Kenyetta Richmond, 40,
a Victim Advocate/Outreach
Specialist "in the Safe
Relationships Division at
Family Services Inc.
May began exploring the
needs of the community dur
: l : *
mg nis pastorale ai
Hopewell Moravian
Church. ^Leaving his
salary And benefits
behind. May stepped
out with a number of
young adults to start
Anthony's Plot as an
"intentional
Christian communi
ty," where they
could live out their
j .. l.
laim anu wutu wiui mem
bers of an underserved
Winston-Salem neighbor
hood.
Richmond is responsible
for Family Services' Teens
4-Change program, a social
change volunteer group
-L. - ? I? ! J
wnicn proviues
education and
outreach for teen
girls ages 14 to
18 in Forsyth
County. At a
time when one
in five teens has
been a victim of
teen dating vio
lence or knows
someone who
r> : _i i
lias ocen, Mtnmunu pres
ents workshops and activi
ties on the topics of teen
pregnancy, teen dating vio
lence, healthy relationships.
sexual assault prevention,
healthy bodies, and leader
ship.
The Human Relations
Commission established the
Young Dreamers Award in
2009 to encourage young
adults to participate in phil
anthropic, altruistic commu
nity involvement that is in
the spirit of how Martin
Luther King Jr. lived and
encouraged others to live.
Rev. May
Richmond
The 27th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Birthday Celebration >
Sunday, January 15 @7:00 p.m.
Arts Couqcil Theater - 610 Coliseum Dr., Winston-Salem, NC 27106
Admission: FREE (with a donation of 3 non-perishable food items)
LIMITED SEATING: RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED
Call 336-723-2266 to reserve your seat today!
BLACK THEATRE IS FOR EVERYONE! , *
This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the W^ARTS .crts}&.
Arts and the N. C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.
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ine cnronicie tuara uo/-yiu) was estaonsnea oy trnest H.
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Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co. Inc., 617
N. Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, N.C, 27101. Periodicals
postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C. Annual subscription price
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
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Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636
BHUIPTCr
Legal Help For Your Debt Problem*
^DONALD R.BUIE,
Attorney At Law
\
Donald R. Beit www.donaldrbuit.com
J 7 * Free Initial Consultation
?? ? * Stop Repossession & Foredosun
The Law Office of
Donald R. Buie is a
Federally designated
Debt Relief Agency
under Title U United
States Code Section
528(a). We help people
file for bankruptcy
relief under the
bankruptcy code.
,773-1398
823 West 5th Street
Rep. Larry Womble
NC House of Representatives
71st District
Tel (336) 784-9373
Fax (336) 784-1626
E-Mail: LWistm@aol.com
Home Address
1294 Salem Lake Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27107
?
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