By Valarie Schwartz
During our lives, we are introduced to countless people, some whose names we never catch or quickly forget, others who seem to instantly become a part of our circle. For me, Elaine Jerome became the latter when we met last December at a Seymour Center event. Her vibrancy and enthusiasm belie her age, making her seem far younger than the 81 years she claims to have lived.
At that introduction and in every phone conversation or meeting since, she has spoken of the concern that has become her driving force — finding a way for this community to provide more offerings for its young people.
“The seniors have been given so much in this community,†Jerome said. “Why isn’t someone speaking up for the teenagers?â€
She moved here in 2000 to live near her daughter Andrea Jerome, married to Matt Barrett, and their daughter, Amarandi. Andrea and Matt met when they were teenagers and both were students at The American Academy in Athens, Greece, where Matt’s father was a Fulbright Scholar and administrator, and Elaine, a registered nurse and health educator, was director of health services. That was in the late 1960s and early ’70s, but the couple did not marry until 1991, and settled in Carrboro to raise Amarandi, now 16. Though they also maintain a home in Greece, they picked Carrboro because that was where Matt’s mother, Riva Econopouly, had settled.
Elaine, who is the daughter of Greek immigrants and was married to a Greek-American, joined her family here after retiring from the Department of Human Services in Princeton, N.J.
“For two years, I would not go to the senior center,†Jerome said. At 74, when she moved here, she considered herself too young to hang out with seniors and instead volunteered in the after-school program at Scroggs Elementary School. “Then I discovered the unbelievable opportunities offered at the senior center.â€
She had painted all her adult life, but at the senior center Herb Slapo introduced her to pastels, followed by classes in oil painting with David Sovero, who further expanded her creative expression.
“Elaine came to my house to work with my daughter, teaching her art,†said Joy Javitz, a friend who stopped by Jerome’s Carrboro apartment after running an errand for her. Javitz’s daughter, Jackie, and Amarandi have been friends since age 2. “She’s a fabulous counselor for young people.â€
Though shocked by recent school dropout rates, Jerome recognizes how traumatic the teen years can be and how easily some can lose their sense of direction.
“My objective is a teen center, and to have students involved in creating it,†she said, noting that discussions about a teen center during the planning stages for the Carrboro Century Center were dropped once it was completed.
She spent the winter talking to people and looking for others willing and able to expend energy and pursue grants and other funding, but she leaves for Greece in two weeks, where she will spend the summer with her family. She has a list of names of interested people she will contact after she returns.
“My dream is for a teen center on Main Street in every small town in the United States with the theme ‘Give us a voice,’†Jerome said. She plans to start in Carrboro.
If you want to be a part of her campaign or have ideas for her, write to her at elainejerome@gmail.com. When she returns in August, she hopes that other interested people will help provide a new sense of direction for meeting this need that would help keep kids in school, off the streets and away from destructive behaviors that lead to accidents, arrests and worse.
Contact Valarie Schwartz at 923-3746 or valariekays (at) @mac.com