WIZS Local News Audio 8-2-21 Noon
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HOPE Program now accepting tenant referrals from landlords, increasing assistance
— press release courtesy North Carolina Department of Public Safety
The Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) Program has announced program changes to accept referrals of tenants from landlords and increase financial awards to North Carolina households that apply for pandemic-related rent and utility assistance. The new guidelines aim to help even more renters get back on their feet while also assisting landlords that have lost income due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. Since opening last fall, the HOPE Program has awarded more than $305.5 million to 81,039 households, with $219.2 million already paid to landlords and utility companies statewide.
“We established the HOPE Program to keep low income tenants hit hard by COVID-19 in their homes with the lights on,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “HOPE has already assisted more than 81,000 families, and these program changes will make sure even more people get the help they need while our state recovers.”
Landlords whose tenants are struggling to pay rent due to the pandemic can submit names and contact information using the HOPE Program website or by contacting the HOPE Call Center at 888-9ASK-HOPE (888-927-5467). A program specialist will then follow up with the tenant to help start the application process.
Additionally, starting Aug. 1, the HOPE Program monthly rent award limit will increase by 30%, which will allow the program to cover approximately 95% of all rent awards requested by tenants. Similarly, the utility award limit will increase by 100%, a change that will cover nearly 90% of all past-due amounts requested by program applicants. The new limits will apply to all new applications received, including applicants reapplying for assistance.
The HOPE Program promotes housing stability by providing rent and utility bill assistance to prevent evictions and the disconnection of utilities. The program currently serves 88 North Carolina counties, with 12 counties and five Native American tribes receiving direct federal funding to operate their own emergency rent and utility programs. A complete list of the counties served by the HOPE Program, county programs and tribal government programs can be found using the online NC HOPE Interactive Map.
Information about the HOPE Program, including eligibility requirements, program benefits and an online application, is available at www.HOPE.NC.gov. Applicants who cannot access the website should call 888-9ASK-HOPE (888-927-5467) for help with the application process. The HOPE Call Center is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Both English- and Spanish-speaking representatives are available to assist callers. Applicants who applied for assistance during the first phase of the HOPE Program are eligible to reapply for additional help.
Funding for the HOPE Program is provided to the state through U.S. Department of Treasury Coronavirus Relief Fund allocations and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021. The HOPE Program is managed by the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency, a division of the Department of Public Safety. To learn more about the HOPE Program, visit www.HOPE.NC.gov.
Forgotten Victims Event Remembers Lives Lost To Drugs
Fifty-eight white crosses dotted the lawn outside the Vance County Courthouse on Sunday afternoon July 25, 2021. Each represented a life lost to drugs. Or, as Patricia Drewes has said, drug-induced homicide.”
Drewes lost her daughter, Heaven, to a drug overdose. Since her daughter’s death, Drewes has worked to raise awareness and help find resources for families struggling with addiction.
The July 25 event was one way to raise awareness of addiction and its effects on families.
Each cross bore the name, birthdate and date of death of loved ones.
The names and photos also appear on a banner that Drewes said she will carry to similar events across North Carolina, as well as a national event in Washington, D.C.
The heat kept some people away, Drewes said, but she estimated that 150 people turnout out for the afternoon event.
“The most memorable thing was not so much what was said, because we all have the same story,” Drewes told WIZS News Friday. “The most memorable (part) was at the end when the church bells tolled.” Although unplanned, she said hearing those bells was a blessing. “It was a message from God,” she said.
Drewes created a Facebook group called Forgotten Victims Vance, Granville, Franklin, and Warren Counties N.C. which has helped families work through their grief as well as providing support and awareness. “You don’t have to go this alone,” she said. “We’re here to help you as much as possible.”
The harsh reality of addiction is all around, Drewes said. “Don’t ever say ‘not my child’” she warned. (Addiction) doesn’t discriminate. It can happen to anyone’s child,” she said.
To learn more, contact Drewes at 252.204.9611 or via FB through the Forgotten Victims page.
SportsTalk: Chris HInes is Bowling His Way to Success
For many years local bowlers made Carolina Lanes their home. The Henderson bowling facility was operated by Benton Hight for many years but in September of last year Chris Hines purchased the building. It took six months to remodel but on March 5 of this year Before the First Frame opened welcoming bowlers back to Henderson.
Hines said that when Hight, whom he’d known for many years, decided to step back from Carolina Lanes he reached out to him. “When the opportunity presented itself, it was a no brainer,” Hines said about purchasing Carolina Lanes. Hines has been involved in bowling for many years operating and managing pro shops, facilites and is a championship bowler himself. He thought ownership was the next logical step and never really looked beyond the former Carolina Lanes facility once he decided ownership was the path for him to take. Hight wanted the facility to continue to be used for bowling which made it easy for Hines and Hight to work toward Hines’ dream of owning his own facility.
Since last September Hines has completely remodeled the building, making it feel bigger, expanded the food menu and brought back summer bowling leagues. “Business has been better than anticipated,” Hines said. He also says support from the community has been great since reopening in March.
Hines has also just finished with the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) championship in Las Vegas where his group took the championship this year. 7600 teams and around 60,000 people participated in the tournament from May until July. His group has been together for 10 years and he calls the Las Vegas tournament one of the most prestigious bowling events held.
Hines also says he has lots of future plans for Before the First Frame in the future but says none of this would have been possible withouth his family’s support. He called his wife an “unsung hero”.
For more information about Before the First Frame, located on US 158 bypass in Henderson, check out their Facebook page where you will find plenty of information including league schedules for the upcoming fall season.
WIZS Local News Audio 7-30-21 Noon
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The Local Skinny! A Graduation Journey
Journey Coleman is a young woman on a mission. The easy part’s done – she is the first official graduate of Vance County High School’s Class of 2022. Vance County Schools held a graduation ceremony – just for her – on Thursday, July 29 at 3 p.m.
The hard part is yet to come, but Coleman has been determined since she was a little girl, her mother says. The hard part? Beating cancer.
Journey is the younger daughter of Sherronda Minor of Henderson and Richie Coleman of Fremont. She turned 18 in March, just a few months after getting the life-altering news that she had a rare form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma.
Her mother spoke with WIZS News last week from her daughter’s hospital room at UNC Hospitals, where she receives her care. She got a chemo treatment on Wednesday, but by Thursday, she had spiked a fever of 102.3 and so back to the hospital she went. She developed pneumonia, Minor said. The chemo compromises her immune system and can cause complications.
Principal Rey Horner, Journey Coleman, Dr. Cindy Bennett
When hospital staff suggested she may not be able to attend the graduation, her mother told the 75 or so in attendance at the graduation that Journey didn’t even consider that an option. VCS Superintendent Dr. Cindy Bennett, along with school board chair Linda Cobb and members of Omega Phi Psi, Inc. and other district officials joined VCHS Principal Rey Horner at the commencement.
“She wasn’t due to graduate until next year,” Minor said. But Journey insisted on completing her course work early. She was not convinced by either her mother or her guidance counselor to shoot for perhaps a mid-year graduation in December, since she spends so much time in hospital getting treatments.
“And here she is, graduating,” Minor said. She said it was heartbreaking to hear her daughter say to her, “Mommy, I just knew I was going to die before I graduate.”
<Click Play for the Graduation Ceremony Audio>
“She had her computer at the hospital,” Minor said. “She was getting chemo and still doing schoolwork.” The plan hit a slight snag when she couldn’t find her charger cord and she couldn’t send her Math 4 work electronically, recalled Journey’s mom. Enter Journey’s godmother, who also happens to work at Vance County High School. She picked up the packet of work and delivered it to school so it could be checked off.
Minor said Journey’s cancer is very rare. It affects the soft muscle tissue. And that’s just what happened with Journey – she complained of pain in her foot. She was visiting her father in Fremont and the parents decided to take her to an orthopedist and podiatrist. After an initial consult on Wednesday, x-rays on Thursday and then an MRI, the parents got the phone call no parent wants to get: “They called us back the next day and said ‘We need to talk,’” Minor recalled.
She started chemotherapy treatments in early October 2020. Since then, doctors tell Minor that Journey’s Stage 4 cancer has spread; despite this news, Journey and her family are still hoping, still praying.
“She’s fighting it unbelievably,” Minor said. “She’s very strong.”
A happy graduate twirls and dances in front of the crowd!
And, once her body has had a chance to recover from the chemo treatments, Journey’s a normal teenager. She and extended family recently returned from a trip to Florida’s SeaWorld, Minor added.
Minor speaks about white counts, updating chemo regimens and regular stays in the hospital for treatments. She knows firsthand about how this all works – she is a cancer survivor herself. She was diagnosed in 2016 and received her care at Maria Parham Health. She is healthy today and said that, back in 2016, she didn’t understand God’s plan for her, why she was having to deal with cancer.
With more clarity now, she said her daughter has a very strong support group of family and friends. Chances are, they all helped to celebrate Journey’s high school graduation Thursday.
The post-graduation festivities include a meal with Journey’s hand-picked favorites: Buttered corn on the cob, collards and ham hock, potato salad, ribs and a ham that her dad is going to prepare. Oh, and cake.
A fitting meal for a deserving young woman and newest graduate of Vance County High School.
TownTalk: The Power Of Poetry Helps Those With PTSD
It’s an unwritten rule – nobody interrupts a group therapy session, Steven Bates said. And yet, there came a knock at the door to announce the Veterans Administration scheduler’s entrance: “’I’m here to talk to you about Steve,’” Bates recalled. What came next changed things for the military veteran and how he determined to help veterans and others deal with PTSD, depression and suicide.
Bates spoke with John C. Rose and guest host Phyllis Maynard Thursday on Town Talk about his non-profit PoemSpeak and his efforts to offer hope to those experiencing the debilitating effects of PTSD, depression and other mental and physical health challenges. And those who may have suicidal thoughts, as it turns out, a result of his encounter with that VA scheduler, he said.
It was five or six years ago, Bates recalled, that he asked this person to read over a few poems he had written for an upcoming suicide prevention and awareness program. “He read them over, and said ‘they’re fine, can I take them home?’” Bates recalled. It was a couple of months later when that unwritten rule was broken and the scheduler interrupted the therapy session.
Unbeknownst to Bates at the time he gave him the poems, that man had decided to end his life. That very night.
“I had a gun in one hand and the poems in the other hand,” Bates said, recalling the man’s conversation. At some point, however, he put the gun down and just kept reading the poems over and over.
“I went home that night with a completely new perspective on my poetry,” Bates said. He was in the process of writing a book of poems, but he said that encounter with the suicidal VA scheduler helped him decide to start a non-profit – for no other reason than to help people.
Reflections of a Beret is the first book of poetry Bates published. He’s working on a fifth book now. There’s a poem in his first collection called “Five Senses of a Veteran.” When the fifth book is published, Bates said the poem title will be updated to “Five Senses of a Veteran or First Responder.”
Like many military veterans, first responders also experience the pressures of service that can manifest in ways like depression, PTSD and thoughts of suicide. Those who work in law enforcement as well as EMTs, firefighters, doctors and nurses all have a lot of pressure on them now, Bates said.
“I’ve worn a badge basically all of my life, since I was 18 years old,” he said. “You name it, I’ve probably worn that badge.” There are many pressures on law enforcement officers right now, he said, “and a lot of them, unfortunately, are finding the pressures of their job too demanding.”
He said he hopes that his poems resonate with readers who may be feeling similar emotions. “I’m honest – I don’t hold back,” Bates said. “If I can feel it, I put it on paper – I don’t tiptoe around a subject.”
He wants others to know that somewhere, somehow, they have made a difference. Remembering that VA scheduler who first read the poems he had written about suicide, Bates said: “There was that one time that a life was changed, and that’s why I do what I do.”
Listen to the complete interview just below.
Visit www.poemspeak.org to learn more about the project, the poet and ways to help.
Donations may be made online or sent to:
PoemSpeak
1260 US Hwy 72 E
Suite B-125
Athens, AL 35611
For complete details and audio click play.
WIZS Local News Audio 7-29-21 Noon
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Community Partners Of Hope, Inc. Looking To Hire Community Network Specialist
Community Partners of Hope, Inc. is hiring a part-time “community network specialist” that board members hope will evolve into a full-time executive director role.
CPOH operates Hope House and the men’s homeless shelter in Henderson, and board chair Ronald S. Cava said an ideal candidate would be someone who can focus attention on promotion, funding and community networking rather than day-to-day operations.
“The right person…will be able to move us exponentially toward achieving our vision of providing 360 support for our clients through a full-time, year-round shelter operation,” Cava said in a press statement.
The community network specialist position is a 20-hour per week position that involves collaboration with other agencies, businesses, law enforcement and area congregations to provide support, guidance and visibility for services to homeless men in the area.
Candidates must have at least a high school diploma and experience as a supervisor or manager; candidates with experience working with non-profits or social services connected with at-risk populations receive priority consideration.
In addition to community networking, the job description includes public relations, managing staff schedules and training, pursuing grant opportunities and coordinating program goals and progress for clients.
Email resume and references to: cpofhope@gmail.com
The Local Skinny! Home and Garden Show 7-28-21
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Farmers market and beekeepers update on the show today. Also, electric fencing around gardens, mosquito mitigation, fall turnips and collards as well as yellowjacket nests.
Click play.