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Rolling Hills residents hope help is on way
Police, HAWS, Center for Community Safety look for ways to make area safer from drug dealers
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Published: December 1, 2008
Kimbery McLean and her family were gathered in her apartment at Rolling Hills for a reunion a month ago when they heard gunshots outside.
One of McLean's relatives had opened the door to greet one of their guests when a man who had just been shot in the hip ran into her apartment, McLean said. Another man followed and fired some more shots that hit McLean's fiancee and her door. She said that her fiancee wasn't seriously injured, but that her apartment was total chaos.
"Everybody was running for their life after they shot through the door," she said. "I had no idea moving over here would be like this."
The man who had been shot in the hip was arrested the next day. As far as she knows, police haven't found the man who shot her fiancee, McLean said.
McLean, who has lived at Rolling Hills for a year, is just one of several residents of the public-housing complex who spoke about being frightened by drug dealers and gunshots and frustrated by roaches and rats.
After several years of complaints from residents about violence connected to drug dealing and unsafe conditions, the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem is looking for a way to resolve the problems and undertake a complete renovation of the complex, said Larry Woods, the executive director of HAWS.
"It is bad, and I'm not running from it," he said.
Woods said that most of the problems are caused by people from outside the complex who come to Rolling Hills to buy and sell drugs. When deals go bad, residents are caught in the middle.
HAWS manages the apartment complex, which is off New Walkertown Road.
A number of agencies, including the Winston-Salem Police Department, the Center for Community Safety and HAWS are working to improve conditions at the apartments, but the solutions will not come quickly, because the problems are complex, Woods said.
Ramona Hambrick, who has lived at the complex since November 2005, said she hears gunshots almost every day and she is afraid for her great-grandsons' safety when they come to visit.
"On a day-to-day basis, someone gets robbed over here," she said.
Capt. Connie Southern of the Winston-Salem Police Department said that the police are aware of problems at the complex and have increased patrols over the past year.
Most of the drug sales are for marijuana, Southern said, although crack-cocaine sales are on the rise as well.
There has been an increase in arrests at the complex, she said, because of the increased police attention in the area. In the past year, there have been 395 arrests for such things as drugs, trespassing and assault, according to police-department records. In the previous year, there were 269 arrests.
Over time, the number of arrests should drop, as word gets around that Rolling Hills is not a good place to sell drugs, Southern said.
Woods said that he is working on a number of plans to improve life at the complex.
He will be discussing such things as installing security cameras and increasing police patrols with Winston-Salem Police Chief Scott Cunningham.
He is also looking for a way to structure a deal using HUD money and private money to renovate the complex. Two of the buildings need new roofs and some of the outdoor stairways are crumbling. The renovation could begin within a year, he said, but would take longer if residents need to be moved before work begins.
He said he would also like to talk to the city about expanding the PILOT program, which is being used in all public-housing complexes, to Rolling Hills. The name stands for payment in lieu of taxes and it would allow the city to take part of the money that HAWS pays in real-estate taxes and allot it for paying off-duty police officers to patrol the complex.
Bill McClain, the director of the city's Weed and Seed program and the youth-services coordinator for HAWS, said he spent time with Rolling Hills residents earlier in the year to try to get them involved with efforts to improve life at the complex. Long-term change will come through partnerships between city officials, police, residents and public-housing officials, he said.
The residents have to take a role in working with police to identify troublemakers, McClain said, and in developing their own leadership skills.
Bringing positive influences into Rolling Hills would also help turn the complex around, he said.
Last summer, a Safe Haven for children was opened at the nearby Sarah Y. Austin Center. Safe Havens provide children in troubled neighborhoods with activities and academic tutoring.
The money for Safe Haven came from a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Weed and Seed program.
McLean said she is glad that people want to help the residents, but she is worried that help will not come quickly enough.
"It seems like someone has to die," she said, "before something gets done."
■ Mary Giunca can be reached at 727-4089 or at mgiunca@wsjournal.com.
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