o
1
OUTHPI LO, ICH.-the city
of Ponti c received S10,Ooo
rant from an 0 I nd County
firm to
in t dru
Ponti c
o .. and for t e pre entation ere, l-rtr Lom
liver and John J. Blrnkr nt. (Pboto by obble)
•
a
a
Na nlel Scott
StlIqWriUr
DBTROIT- The Detroit Area
Agency on aging (DAAA) pon-
ored Senior Citizen Pharmacy
Fair (lid not attract the e timated
800 to 1,000 seniors DAAA had
anticipated.
According to France F.
Taylor, program director for
DAAA and Michigan's Phar­
mace tical Program for Seniors
(MEPPS), apprcxtmatety 400
eniors attended what is ex­
pected to become an annual
event.
The hot, humid weather may
have been a factor in the low
attendance, Taylor added.
But for those who attended,
the f ir wa a God send. The'f4
were ervices, as well a
programs, designed to help' al­
leviate the stress of coping with
the escalating pharmacutical ex­
penses people on fixed incomes
have to cope wi tho
The popular attractions were
MEEPS' prescription voucher
Ca Corridor
Citizen of th Month
FLORIA ELLISON
For 23 consecutive nights
in May, Floria Bllison slept
in the lobby of the State
Building on Sixth and
Howard, becoming one of the
leaders of a group of 12-15
people "sleeping-in" to
protest state cuts in human
service and aid programs.
Ellison, who as part of her
dutie as St. Patrick's Church
Christian Services Coor­
dinator runs the church's
food distribution program,
came to the Corridor from a
job as a lab technician in
Troy. She took the job at St.
Pat's so that she could "take '
basic Christian values and
put them to use" she says.' ,
She never expected to be­
come an instrumental part of
the protest, but when the
group, many of them home­
less, decided to stay for the
. long term, she fel t she could
not walk away. "I think It's
part of your Christian duty to
get involved and, not just sit
there and say'}
sympathize'," she says.
Staying with the group
meant not only sleeping on
blankets' on the hard floor,
o but also being locked in the
building every weekend from
Friday evening to Monday
morning. -
The experience also
taught her never to take any­
thing for granted, she says.
The group often did not know
how it would get its next
meal; "I 10 t 11 pounds," she
notes.
THE IMMEDIATE ef­
fect of the sleep-in may be
limited, be acknowledges,
but "it i a beginning. The
realization that you cannot
do everything enabled u to
do somethillg," she ay.
The poor do have power, she
thinks, but they must regi ter
and vote in order to make
their voice heard.
because he wanted to keep
abreast of wh t is happening for
senior .
"I wa in Lansing two week
ago for the Senior Power Day,"
Howard aid. "Me and my wife
just want to st y up to p r with
what's happenin ."
Rose Oldren i 68. She
"due n't have" any medical
benefits. Two of her medical
problem are high blood pre -
sure and a "heart condition."
Oldren said she takes one
type of medicine, "Procardia
XL," that is quite expensive.
She said she pays "S168 for 100
tablets It and that she takes it
twice a day.
H IS A widower and i on
a fixed income. She has
household bill that fall due
monthly and in order to cope,
she said, she adjusts her bills by
skimping.
"I don't always take medica­
tion the way prescribed," she
said, as she explained beth ver­
bally and non verbally how bills
and the lack of finances lead
seniors to sacrifice health to pay
bills. '
.Ernestine D. Walker brought
her 66-year-old mother Helen
Morrow to the fair.
She said her mother'S medi­
cal bills are "quiet expensive.
"She (my mother) spends be­
tween $100 and $125 per month
on medication and that ,doe n't
, include doctor bills." .
Because her mother is on a
fixed income, Walker said, she
had to take out a upplemental
insurance to help pay the medi­
cal bills and that "S30 monthly
premium" is an added expense."
College: You
s_b�_a�_�_rl_�t_=_u_st_on .can Do It!
e
•
o
ea
Taylor aid many e niors
h ve taken out upplemen tal in­
urance and Ann H. Davi • an
pro bono le
m in in
tion ." Silver
ci lly dopted the city of Pon ·
hi cond home. Brown'
i ctively involved in
h rit ble event within th ..
community. Since 1989, he ha
nnu lIy funded 8 S2,500-'
chol r hip for Ponti c orth-:'
ern nd Centr 1 hi h chool. 'I.
Ponti c Deputy M yor Em
melt Elliott, Jr. rve re P'
dent of the Drug Awarene
Found tion. Other officer in-'
etude Vice Pre ident JON J."I
BIR KRANT, E q. of Som­
mer, Schwartz, Silver
Schwartz and Monett Mclnto
of the School Di trict of the city:
of Pontiac. The Foundation'
Trea urer i Jean Blake of Fir t
of Americ ; A i tant Trea urer-.
i Pontiac City Council Presi->
dent John Bueno; nd Secretary',
i Rev. Ellington Elli of Greater
Life Chri tian Church in Pon- I
tiac.
'\
...
or ni lion' concern or th
future of a I nd County. The
Found tiorr' officer will then
review r que t for gr nt from
e i ting community group nd
progr m involved in drug nd
Icohol bu e prevention.
One of the fir t recipient of
gr nt from the Drug Aw rene
Foundation will be Pontiac'
Drug Free Communi ty Project
which ha a ed for a istance
in purcha ing drug education
workbooks and materials to be
di tributed to local elementary
chool tudent.
Detroi t Lion 'Lorna Brown,
native of Florida, ha unoffi-
u
t
ca
e
employee with DAAA said, "A problem."
n tional health care policy
would help alleviate part of the
SOSAD is to help support its
work, saying violence and
budget priorities are really one
issue. This connection comes
from cities being underfunded,
where the lack of domestic
progrjnns helps create dispair
within the population.
"World PC'l' e belongs at
home, why ck i.n up in Saudi
Arabia when th- re is so much
to do here," said Victor.
THE PARTNERSHIP also
brings predominately Black,
inner-city SOSAD in contact
with predominately white, sub­
urban MSF, which fosters
cooperation between the two'
gr o up s. Victor said when
there are problems in the city,
no one in the suburbs are im­
m une to them.
SOSAD focuses on creating
'positive alternatives for young
people. It was organized in
1987 by parents and supporters
of children killed in street
SENIOR PHARMACY FAIR-Approximately 400 seniors citizen attended the' pharniacy fair last"
week at tbe tate fair uround . They were lntere ted In , among other things, pharmacy; vouchers
and health creentng. ( 'boto by N. Scott)
Taking a stand to savea life
violence, who decided it was
time to put a stop to the kill­
ings.
SOSAD founder and presi­
dent Clementine Barfield said"
the biggest c o nt r i but i on '
people can make is to take a'
stand and participate in the"
march. .'
She said SOSAD not only
works in Detroit but is reach­
ing out to Highland Park. She"
pointed out children are dying',
in Highland Park also, and'
she's calling for Highland"
Parkers to take a stand and,
"march to save a life." '
The walk-a-thon is also a"
fundraiser for both organiza-':
tions. Slashed budgets have af-"
fected both groups and the
event will help them carry-on .
their work.
For more information on the
Walk to Save a .Lif'e , call-"
SOSAD at 833-3030 0<"
Sane/Freeze at 548-3920.
assistance program nd health
screening.
NOT ONLY WERE the
seniors interested in assistance
for sky rocketing cost of
prescribed medicine, they were
equally interested in blood pres­
sure checks, eye exams, and
other health checks.
Sixty-four-year old Edward
Howard aid he attended the fair
Loretta J. M urpby fills out
voucher applications at last
week' senior pharmacy fair.
(Pboto by N. Scott)
A Joint ettort
to Improve
education
Hally Middle School and
Manufacturers Bank par­
ticipated in a rally last Monday
to begin their Detroit Compact
partnership.
The Detroit Compact is a
joint effort to upgrade the
value of education in the
Detroit Public School system.
A wide range of partakers will
include schools and univer­
sities, local businesses, com­
munity organizations, govern­
ment, parents and students.
Manufacturers Bank will
, contribute tutors and mentors
to aid over 650 Hally students
which participated in the
Detroit Compact at the begin­
ning of the fall.
During the rally, every stu­
dent signed a "giant contract to
commit themselves to the
Detroit Compact. Other fea­
tures in the rally were the
'school's band, balloons and
clowns.
IN THE NEAR F.uTURE,
Man ufacturers Bank will
launch two more programs for
middle school students. The
Reading Incentive Program
and the Consumer Manage­
ment Banking Program is
scheduled to begin some time
this ummer.
Madonna University,
Livonia, will offer a program
designed for the individual who
has some apprehension about
beginning, resuming, or com­
pleting college course work .
Titled,. "College: You Can Do
It," the one-day meeting, offered
at two convenient times, will ad­
dress the concerns of the un­
known in the college or
university setting and encourage
one to "make the move."
Workshop topics include:
"Mechanics of College Life"
"How Much 'Work'is
There?"
"Can I Fit it Into my
Schedule?"
"How do I Pay For ur:
" Will I Feel Awkward With
Other Students?"
"What are the professors
Like? "
The mee ung will be held
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the
, Science Lecture, Hall on
Madonna's campu. Attend
either Session I, offered on
Saturday, June 29, or Ses ion II
on Wednesday, July 10. The S15
fee includes lunch and rerre h­
ments. For more information, or
to regi ter by phone with credit
card, plea e call (313) 591-
5188. Madonna Unt ersity is
located at 1-96 and Levan Road
'in Livonia.
by DERRICK C. LEWIS
Staff Writer
The organizations of Save
'Our Sons And Dau.ghters
(SOSAD) a nd M'i ch ig an
SANE/Freeze (MSF') have
joined forces to bring attention
to the ,plight of children ex­
posed to violence. '
On Saturday, June 15, a
Walk to Save a Life, 10
kilometer walk-a-thon will kick
off at Detroit Unity Temple on
McNichols one block' west of
Woodward.
Hartford Memorial Baptist
Church's own choir will be
there to start off the event, and
a few words from SO�IAD and
MSF officials will also be fea­
tured. The organizations will
also try to get city officials
from Highland Pa rk and
Detroit to speak.
The route will go south
down Woodward to Glendale,
then north up Third an d end in
the Palmer Park Picnic area.
MSF FOCUSES ON work­
ing toward peace, d is ar m a­
ment and reprioritizing
government spending. MSF is
a statewide affiliate of the
100,000 strong national or­
ganization.
, Poi n tin g 0 u t t h a t the
government spends 52 cents
out of every tax dollar for
defense, MSF Program. Direc­
tor Jackie Victor said her or­
ganization is working toward
shifting those dollars toward
domestic items.
She said MSF has a lot in
common with grassroots move­
ments across the co untry,
which are focusing on govern­
ment neglect and mis placed
priorities,
She said the connection with