World Not So Lonely Anymore

              I
cook at the shelter, Linda Miller (right), at­tends
classes daily with Lucille end practices
the signs with her in their spere moments.
(Tribune photol
.~ ~. II SECTION l.:)
TULSA, OKLA,. SATURDAY, NOV, 23, 1974
LEARNING TO COMMUNICATE-Lucille
Hopkins, 43, is a deaf-mute "nd is le"rning "
universal sign langu"ge for the first time thanh
to the Tulsa County Emergency Shelter. Heed
: Uk ''If I'
found the family an apart.
ment, the Salvation Army !l<1d
volunteered the first month's
rent, and various groups don·
ated furniture. The ehilrtre:l
were enrolled in school, he
added, and they are all IImc
Honing as a unit.
The shelter admitted 378
people in fiscal 1973, CorneJi'lS
s aid, including everything
from runaways, to ex·
prisoners, mothers len
stranded by their husbands,
and people simply out of
money. Ages range from 18 to
73.
The average staying time
was about two weeks, accord­ing
to the director.
"Of course we have some
people in here who would set­tle
for just living here from
now on if you :Iidn't wa{(;11
them," Cornelius said.
1he sheiter handles this by
gehmg a person the necessary
training he said. Then if the
See LONELY, page 48
Anymore!
traveling through the country
seeking jobs.
The shelter provides tempo­rary
housing and co~n~~ing
until they get "their live~ back
together," he added.
One such family of 11 was
brought to the shelter last
month, the director said. They
were stranded in Tulsa with
no more money for food or gas
and nowhere to turn, he
added.
, 'I remember that night
well," Cornelius said. "It was
terribly rainy and the family
had no way to get here.
"It warmed my whole heart
to ~e how the people staying
at the sheller pitched in and
helped the family m3ve over.
They didn't finish until 11
p.m."
THE NEXT day, the shelter
had found the husband a iob
and had enrolled the mother in
vo~ational training, Cornelius
saId.
Within eight days, they had
s i It i n g arOUnd," Cornelius
said. "We are active and we
are ~etting people mOVing.
"What we're doing is the
first time it has ever benn
done here." •
Once Lucille completes the
sign lansu.age training, tile
director saId. the shelter wil!
find her a job.
T h.e n she'll live at th~
county home a while longer
until she's saved enough to get
a place to rent.
"WE'LL TEACH her how to
live on the outside and how to
use the bus system so she can
get around by herself," he
!'did.
"For the first lin'e in her
life, Lucille will b" out or. her
own and independiml."
The shelter scn'cs all sorts
of different personal problems,
the director said. With the
economy tightening up, for in·
stance, morJ and more fami­lies
are out of money and out
of luck, he said, and are just
By KATIE RUFFIN
The 43-year-old deaf-mule
had lived in an isolated, lonely
world, unable to communicate
- unable to share her feelings
or thoughts.
PC<lple had thollsht she was
mentally retarded.
Then Luc'ille Hopkins was
brought to lh~ Tulsa County
Emergency ShplIer, at 5516 E.
51st St., last February.
NOW SHE is attending siJ:{n
language classes and has blos­somed
into a smiling, eager,
vivacious human being, said
shelter director Chick Corne­lius.
Cornelius, who came to the
shelter a year ago, has
c han g eel the county hom~
image from what he calls a
"dumpinl.l ground" to an ac·
tive SOCIal agency working
with people 10 help them back
into society.
"We're more than just a
county poor fann with th~
image of a bunch of old folks
'2,,1 mEnu_OJ I =~mua. ~~ r- ~ I.f.</_ r Deaf-Mute Finds Help
C' World Not So