Woman finds hope, help at Salvation Army shelter

May 14—HIGH POINT — Darlene Price arrived in High Point last August not just homeless but hundreds of miles from home.

Worse still, she had no hope.

A native of New Mexico, Price, now 62, had to leave her longtime home of Texas in October 2020 because her worsening eyesight — she has glaucoma and cataracts — meant she could not manage on her own. She moved in with her daughter in a one-bedroom apartment in Burlington.

They allowed her daughter's lease on that apartment to expire last June because they had a two-bedroom apartment lined up — but the landlord then informed them that a relative suffering lingering effects of COVID-19 would be moving into it instead.

The two began a revolving ordeal of making phone calls throughout the region seeking space alternately in extended-stay hotels and, when they could find any with room, homeless shelters.

Which is how they came to the Salvation Army of High Point's Center of Hope Family Shelter.

But Price couldn't allow herself to believe their stay would be any longer in High Point than it had been anywhere else the previous two months.

"I just thought we're going to be here for a short term, then back out on the street again," she said.

Speaking of it now, she can smile, because instead of providing a respite lasting a few days, the Salvation Army allowed Price and her daughter to remain. It offered counseling and support services. Price began volunteering with chores around the shelter and helping at the front desk.

The week before Thanksgiving, Price and her daughter moved out of the shelter, each into their own apartment in the High Point Housing Authority's Elm Towers.

Three weeks after that, Price began working part time at the shelter as a front desk monitor, plus offering her own support and personal counsel to others who now are in the same situation she was in just a few months ago.

She is looking into the possibility of classes for the visually impaired so she can resume working toward a bachelor's degree in social work. She had completed a community college degree in Texas in 2016 and was taking further courses online when her deteriorating vision interrupted her work, and she said she has about a year to go to complete her degree.

However, she may not be restricted to classes for the visually impaired because she hopes to have cataract surgery this summer.

Price feels she is on the way to rebuilding her life, and she credits the Salvation Army for it.

"They gave me the courage to stand on my feet," she said. "It's like family away from family. It's family I never had, put it like that."

Salvation Army Capt. Lars Ljungholm said the beauty of Price's story is that it encapsulates what the shelter is intended to do.

"The Salvation Army was able to help with a few essentials, and now six months later she is able to help others," he said.

This is a critical time for the Salvation Army of High Point because its main fundraiser of the year, the annual Darrell and Stella Harris Champion of Hope Dinner, is coming up on Tuesday, May 24. Officials hope to raise $50,000, and every dollar is crucial because donations otherwise are down about 30% from last year, Ljungholm said.

The shelter, which is still operating at about half capacity as a COVID-19 precaution, currently houses about two dozen people.

"All of them are working, ... and still they can't get the ends to meet, so they stay in our shelter," Ljungholm said.

Price said the $100 cost of a ticket to the dinner is well worth the good it will do.

"The Salvation Army gave me hope again," she said. "The name Salvation Army Center of Hope is just what they are because they will give you all the hope and encouragement you need."

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