THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608090195
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: 69 lines
An old-timers gathering planned at Ida Barbour public housing neighborhood for Aug. 24 is not just a good-time party.
``We want to introduce positive opportunities to the people who live there now,'' Regina Creekmore, the chairman, told me.
Creekmore, a woman in her 30s, lived in Ida Barbour as a child.
She remembers those days as happy days, playing ball and making crafts at the nearby community center.
The kids then had a good time in a constructive way, she said. They felt part of a community.
Creekmore said that when she was 25 and had a child of her own, she moved back to Ida Barbour. That was around 1985.
``I thought it would be a good place to live as it was when I was young but it had changed completely,'' she said. ``I couldn't live there again.''
Creekmore said things changed in the projects around 1980. Drugs, she said, were a major factor.
``People used to have more dignity than they do now,'' she said.
Creekmore said that she grows very concerned about housing areas when she asks about children she knew.
``People would say they did so-and-so and were sent away,'' she said. ``That really bothers me. These were good kids raised in Christian homes and they got in with the wrong people.''
Creekmore said God gave her the idea of combining a positive program with a reunion.
``I asked God where the solution is,'' she said. ``He gave me this idea to give the people knowledge of programs and activities available to them to help them.''
Then the reunion idea grew out of conversations with old friends.
Creekmore said she and others see the planned event as a way to do two things at once - get together with friends and try to help the young people who live in their old neighborhood.
People who lived in Ida Barbour from 1950 to 1970 are involved.
``We're coming together and giving something back to the neighborhood,'' Creekmore said. ``We want to do both.''
Creekmore said she was amazed to find all the organizations that offer services to people.
``The programs are sitting right there for them but they don't know about them,'' she said. Creekmore cited large public agencies such as the Community Services Board as well as smaller private groups such as Mothers Against Crime.
``People just don't understand what is out there,'' she said.
Many of the agencies and organizations will have representatives at the Ida Barbour gathering. The intent will be to inform residents of the many activities and services available to them.
She said that the committee has reached far out to encompass even garden clubs and similar groups.
``A garden club is going to try to form a group of people to work on beautifying the area,'' she said.
The reunion committee also has brought nearby churches into the planning process. Some of the churches are looking at offering after-school programs and other activities for the residents, Creekmore said.
``I am happy to have the churches become involved,'' she said.
She added that the congregations surrounding the housing area could help ensure that any programs started out of the gathering would continue and would grow.
In addition, the committee is trying to contact former residents who have gone on to lead successful lives.
``We're trying to get in touch with those we know,'' she said.
However, anyone who has not been contacted who would like to participate should call Creekmore at 398-0705. by CNB