Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 19, 1992 TAG: 9201160286
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE KENNEDY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
PROGRAMS PROVIDE ROLE MODELS
Hope Davis said four role models helped her get where she is.Davis is a James Madison University graduate who is on the staff at Saunders and White Certified Public Accountants in Northwest Roanoke and studying for her CPA exam.
Her role models were:
Her mother, Shirley Harrison, who went from single parent on welfare to licensed practical nurse at Roanoke City Nursing Home. Now remarried and with a home of her own, Harrison took job training at Total Action Against Poverty to get her nursing skills.
Her aunt, Martha Baxter, who demonstrated common sense, patience and the power of prayer.
Her paternal grandmother, retired school teacher Inez Booker, who taught her manners, pride and self-motivation.
Her maternal grandparents, Charley and Maria Davis, who supervised her and her brother while their mother worked.
Hope Davis's father had little contact with the family. "It's sad. . . . We were especially dependent on our immediate family to combine together."
Single parents have difficult lives as they juggle jobs, child care and the responsibilities of parenthood. Often, they need help. In some cases, like Shirley Harrison's, the family can provide it. Other times, friends, neighbors and volunteers may step in.
Nowadays, with young people facing sexual pressures, the temptation of easy money through drugsand the threat of violence in the streets, role models are being emphasized more than ever - particularly for young black men, regarded by some observers as bordering on an endangered species.
"It's difficult being a teen-ager because they have far more decisions to make than we had," says George "Killer" Miller, wrestling coach and assistant football coach at William Fleming High School in Roanoke.
"There are more dangerous things out there."
Everybody knows it, and some are doing something about it - or planning to.
"I've been to too many funerals of young people," says William Hackley, assistant superintendent for administration of the Roanoke City Schools. He and about 10 of his friends have discussed forming an organization of 150 or so adults who could spend time with young people, "even if it's only 15 or 20 minutes touching base, going to church with them and so on - very similar to what the Big Brothers and Big Sisters do."
They hope to get it started by the beginning of February.
Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Roanoke Valley has begun a program called Big Buddies that will bring together adult volunteers in activities with young people once or twice a month, says Chet Hart, the executive director.
The program won't be just for minorities. Its initial focus is on the Hurt Park and Lincoln Terrace public housing projects. Eventually it will include all the projects, Hart says.
His experience with Big Brothers in Hickory, N.C., showed him many people can give help once or twice a month but not weekly, as the regular Big Brother and Sister program requires.
Meanwhile, other youth organizations, from Boy Scouts to sandlot sports teams, continue their work with young people. The churches, too, are making efforts to involve youths.
"We seem to have held our own, to some degree," says William Lee, pastor of Loudon Avenue Christian Church in Roanoke. "Not as well as we would like. . . . I don't think we're tooting our horn loud enough about the kinds of things that go on in church. We're going to have to become more visible and vocal about what we're doing."
Kenneth Wright, pastor of First Baptist Church on North Jefferson Street, says one of his goals is to establish a program for young people in the area of Christian education.
And Total Action Against Poverty is trying to get grant money for a mentoring program, said Claudette Brown of Youth Services.
Eric Fox has been involved with Loudon Avenue Christian's Boy Scout program for 25 years. "I find that if you have a good program, they're ready to come and participate," he says.
What Hackley and his friends envision is a program that will keep kids tuned into reality, now and in the future.
"We need to put hope back into these youngsters, to stress the importance of education and coping skills for life in general, to show them there's more to life than short-term gain," he says. " Now is very important to them. They don't understand that delaying gratification will pay off in the long run."
Big Buddies' first outing was on a Saturday morning before Christmas. Eight adults took seven children from Hurt Park to the country to cut Christmas trees and take a hayride.
In the future, the group might book time in a gym for basketball or volleyball, Hart says. "We'll add groups of five children at a time."
Miller, a native Roanoker who returned after college 18 years ago to begin his teaching career, says trust, communication and encouragement are important tools for reaching the young. Availability also is key.
"My wrestling team has to repeat my telephone number in unison so there's no excuse for not calling me," he says. "They know I'm available 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
It's hard to tell, on a day-by-day basis, just how much influence a role model is having on young people. It's the belief that they can have an effect that keeps role models involved with the young.
"Basically, they determine their own destiny," Miller says. "If they're able to become successful, you're proud of them. If they make that wrong decision and it becomes fatal, you just wish they had listened."