Friday, November 19, 1971
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y e ! I o w frame houe a? UO V, .
R-.-c-mary St. b, by no means an
':-!'r i-,- iv'- ght. lb-.- house is old and
- duw:;. If,-- grass what is left of ,t
dyV'Z- And the interior isn't too
ty either
fj v '-' e who work n that ho-.-e
; vh. cafi or go there tor
1 !- h-hl)y appc;ra;..e maX
aab obii-iy no difference.
lf 'lit home of Sv.it, hboard. a p!a,e
'uere just about anv vour:2 person c'
Jo !or help.
Ntov m it- second year of operation.
Sw it chboard has been continual!
expanding its role m working with the
yoa: -j people of Chapel ;!! dem-ite the
' ? 'b :t it has to make do with a budget
b ou!y $15,000 to Si 8.000 per year.
S .v it hboard was officially opened in
bbc vpring uf )7(j j,y iheYhape! !!;!!
Drug ."!'n Committee, a croup of local
,;ii-io tunned to combat the towa
i-t pronlt;iiH with
. -cenic druiis.
1 ...
In Use beginning it was mainly a place
; ; our.g people to call during bad trips
r when tbe had taken an overdo o!
? ,rom.
Now. however. Switchboard is more
than tii.ii .
mvuenboard: 929-1
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I lie home of Switchboard at 40S W.
open for people with problems ranging
Among the programs offered by Switchboard is a free soup
kitchen five days a week. The kitchen is held at the Newman
drug problem t o
drus-related caH now
per.ent of the 250 to
'j re
month, according to B-ck G r :
runs the service v.ith ho. v.;:. K;.
lJ.sor.kv and David Per:,. '
I 'NC student .
Other M'rvives .urrer
include p rob b.-m prem... :.
c o n t r a c ep t iv e nosohsi.
counseling, helping oung p..
jobs as well a-, a pda,. to -t 1. ;:
Hi!!, running a aap kitchen ow
week (Mondays a the Ncwm.m
Tuesday through hridav at
foundation) and opera"' c a ". r
where young people p-. on
town can sleep a lew night.
Switchboard abo help, po p' .
to start new projects, ooh ..o 0,
H.li hood ("oi'peraie.
But the ;:nja irap. tun .
however, is Swikh !)oa rd'- .
runaways, "une ot tfie r::.:j o M
do." according to Ku G-!d :e!n.
Probably no one kf;o-s ho'.'.
ire ! s out. but mo-u . t ? -a
t-.
.1 ;
1!-
i -
Rosemary St. is always
from bad trips to just
needing a place to
members sleep there
through Frid3 .
1
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LJ y . y , A.VW-ta-iUJ f jfi t --II. Ill "I" l lllfl ' 'I - ' " am-,' n, ,M 111" I IIHIHI'ri' HTl" ti lT'UII I 1 1" I'llf I" , , .1 ,1 Nl - . .
ru: .sways who arrive ;r. Chape! H;d v.;nu
up at Switchboard sooner cr later.
"We sit down and talk to them aKuu:
situation.-" Ba Gold.tem a;j
we teii tliem we have to r.ot:: the
riae that they're here. That's o .u
don't get closed down for harboring
runawav s."
APer iht police have been informed.
Goldstein said. Sw;t. hboard s?3f.
members then riorma'lv try to persuade
the runaway to return home unless
problems exist that make it undesirable.
In these cas.es the youth is u.uaH)
reterred to the Oranse Count - Social
Services.
In other cases m which a youth refuses
o return home and is old enough that he
. an not be made to. Switchboard
normal!) helps him find a job and a place
to s!u .
Ii tough its work with runawav s is one
o the mo-t crucial services Switchboard
pi' vides. the results have not been all
that great.
"Ru.uuwuv s are our biggest problem."
Kay Goldstein said, '"and we have the
Lao succev. with them."
In their work with runawav s and in
other areas as well Buck Goldstein said
Switchboard staff cooperates with local
authorities and receives their cooperation
m return.
"Our relationship with (Chapel Hill
I'olue) Chief (villiam) Blake is
fantastic," he said. "They normally give
us several days to work with a kid before
ihey move in."
lie also praised the mental health
center at Notth Carolina Memorial
1 hospital.
1
sleep tor the night. At least two staft
every night to handle emergency calls.
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Center on Mondavs and at the Weslev Foundation Tuesdav
""rier. we have to eo there. tnc i..
vs-:rk with the people we take to them.'
he said. "Thev help us out a lot."
According to Kay Goldstein.
Switchboard also has a healthv working
relatu
up wit!
the
Dru;
Action
board o:
Committee, which
erves as its
directors.
"All the people on the board have
really been cooperative." he said. "1
can't say that we agree on evervthmg. but
we still get along with them."
The respect for the town people
appears to be mutual.
"The Police Department was glad to
see it happen." BLke said, referring to
the formation of Switchboard. "There
liave been times when we've had our
problems with them, but since Buck took
over in May things have gone well."
Blake agreed that one of the best
services provided by Switchboard is its
work with runaways.
"Unless the parents push us." he said,
"we try to give them time to work with
the kids. Thev- can do a better job than
we can because the kids can relate to
'hem better than to policemen."
Despite the respect it lias gained in the
community, however. Switchboard still
needs funds. The money it receives now
comes from the Chapel Hill Board of
Aldermen, the Community Chest and
private donates, but it is not enough to
pay the tour ull-time coordinators as
well as the house manager. Robin Garrett,
and still leave enough to continue the
present expansion.
"We have enough money to operate
on." Buck Goldstein said, "but if we had
more, we could get a lot more
accomplished."
At present. Switchboard has
approximately 50 counselors who work
in shifts to keep iht c .ice open 24
hours a day. Though, according to
Dworsky, they have no problems finding
volunteers - except during the summer
and vacation periods - there is a problem
with scheduling them so that someone is
always there. At least two staff members
sleep in the house every night to handle
emergency calls.
The training program for prospective
counselors normally consists of three
sessions (although current staff members
will also be going through an intensive
in-service training program). The first
session is devoted to general information
about Switchboard, house regulations and
the like, the second to practice in
counseling techniques, and after new
volunteers have spent five or six
apprentice hours at the house, the third
session is spent discussing their
experience during their apprenticeship.
"Sometimes we have to screen people
out." Buck Goldstein said, "but not very
often. Usually when people come back
for the third session, they want to work,
and they're qualified."
' Kav and Buck Goldstein handle some of
1 Switchboard as Mever Dworski looks on. The
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Switchboard staff members meet wetkly
problems that have arisen and new programs
Volunteers used to be between 1!
ages of 17 and 22, Goldstein said, b :
now some of them are as old as c0
"I think people really dig the :j
people because they're far out." b .i d
"They're all pretty flexible, and b .;.
adapt really well. Sometimes then can :
more than we can because thev can t b- c
kid home for a few nights."
Though some staffers have h ;
experiences with drugs, lie said, m.o
have never used hallucinogenic drugs.
some have never used anv drugs at ad.
The key, according to Goldstein.
being able to relate to the person havr g
the bad trip and being able to talk w'h
him.
"Sometimes all a person need- :
little reassurance that he's okay ."he s: j
"Other times we need to reallv -;t , .0
with hirn and talk for a while."
Story by Harry
JSL jk
m
Photos by Leslie Tedd
the routine calls to
David PeiTy, all
coordinators for t Fie
three, along with
t - - ' t
M in
: J J
g
I
to iiivcuss. m-NV cnnM Hnt, technitpies, anv
tiut mkht be ir tafecJ
S'.'otv fbfijrd
...i' c risls
u;.: ,nd.
!'-e o!U..tio-i
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Pel - .0 o
medoal
r-K al.J
re ar-d'm ue
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!:OW to
a with
:e are
am lor
ca!
t.e p tnern
. m i have
more
v : peopse.
1 1
former I
project
iC viudei.ts. are t lie mam