'Messing with the weak': Elderly tenants accuse Winston-Salem housing authority of intimidation

ASPIRE, Winston-Salem's housing authority, has engaged in a campaign of intimidation to silence residents critical of its management and shut out advocacy groups working to help them, critics say.

"We are calling on ASPIRE to cease its attempts to obstruct, intimidate and retaliate against tenants who are organizing for better conditions in their housing," the North Carolina Tenants Union and Housing Justice Now group says in an online petition on behalf of residents at Healy Towers and Crystal Towers.

Those two ASPIRE housing projects serve elderly and disabled residents.

Among those who say they've been targets of retribution are three tenants – all in their 70s – who faced eviction over what ASPIRE described as threatening behavior.

Magistrates ruled in favor of the tenants in two of those cases.

The third, against 78-year-old Edith Chisholm, never even made it to court.

"Do I look dangerous?" asked Chisholm as she leaned on a cane outside the Healy Towers complex in western Winston-Salem. "You gotta be kidding me."

Chisholm has been openly critical of management at Healy Towers, including how grant money designated for resident programs and services is spent.

So, when ASPIRE saw a chance to rid itself of an irritant, it jumped at the chance, she suggested.

'Something is about to happen'

It started with a disagreement over the use of the Healy Towers community room last November.

When a discussion between Chisholm and a manager grew tense, she left and called ASPIRE's offices.

The voicemail she left would become the impetus for ASPIRE's attempt to evict Chisholm, who has lived in Healy Towers since 2017.

In a letter dated Nov. 14, 2025, ASPIRE notified Chisholm that she had 30 days to vacate her apartment.

In her voicemail nine days earlier, the notice said, "You threatened (an) ASPIRE staff member, saying, 'I'm telling ya something is about to happen (and) it's not going to be good.' Due to the history of the interactions between Ms. Chisholm and the ASPIRE staff member, the staff member understood that she was being threatened with violence."

Chisholm was dumbfounded.

"Of course, I wasn't threatening anybody," she said. "Look at me. What am I gonna do? I was just saying this kind of nonsense ends up escalating."

On Dec. 3, Chisholm and an attorney from Legal Aid made the same point during a meeting with ASPIRE Human Resources Director Gwen Burston. The following day, ASPIRE Vice President of Operations Kelly Church informed Chisholm in a letter that her eviction was being rescinded.

"I know they dislike me," Chisholm said. "But they cannot get rid of me. They cannot find anything on me to justify an eviction, and they never will."

The chaplain

Chisholm and fellow Healy Towers resident Dennis Threatt have become kindred spirits, of sorts.

The 72-year-old Threatt, who has lived at the complex since 2019, served as its chaplain until last year, when ASPIRE unilaterally eliminated the role.

In response to a series of questions from the North Carolina Tenants Union and Housing Justice Now, ASPIRE confirmed that it removed Threatt as chaplain due to his involvement with Healy Towers United, an independent group of residents that advocates for improved conditions and tenant rights.

"There is no one currently in the chaplain position since Mr. Threatt has chosen to be a representative of Healy (Towers) United," ASPIRE explained. "This organization's mission conflicts with the goals of the (official) Resident Council."

Threatt believes his involvement with Healy Towers United was behind ASPIRE's attempt to evict him.

In a complaint filed in Forsyth County District Court in April, ASPIRE alleged that during a "confrontation" at the facility in March, Threatt acted in a threatening manner toward another resident and thereby violated the terms of his lease.

On April 16, ASPIRE presented its case to a magistrate, who promptly rejected the housing authority's claim that Threatt should be booted from his apartment.

"The judge didn't even look at me or ask me any questions," said the softspoken Threatt in a quivering voice as he recalled the hearing. "He said it sounded like two people having a disagreement, and a disagreement between two people does not warrant an eviction or (amount to) a lease violation."

Samuel's saga

Samuel Grier, 79, has called Crystal Towers home for a quarter-century.

He also has been among the most vocal advocates for his neighbors and, as a result, a frequent critic of ASPIRE.

Grier was among those who opposed a potential sale of Crystal Towers in 2019 and, when the authority scrapped the idea three years later, he and others called for extensive renovations of the deteriorating complex.

Grier and other residents have kept up that pressure through a group known as Crystal Towers United. Members have become especially active as ASPIRE considers a nonprofit organization's proposal to buy Crystal Towers for $1, demolish the more than half-century-old high-rise and replace it with a "mixed-income affordable housing community" on the same site.

In September of 2024, Grier and a female Crystal Towers tenant engaged in an argument. That's about as much as Grier and ASPIRE agreed about in their versions of what happened.

ASPIRE accused Grier of being the aggressor and told him there were 11 witnesses to corroborate that account.

"And I said, 'I have one witness, and her name is video,'" he recalled.

The footage depicted the other tenant as the aggressor, said Grier, who added that he went upstairs to his apartment to avoid any additional interaction after management called the police.

"Next thing I know, the police knocked on my door, and lo and behold, they asked me, do I want to press charges, because they'd seen the video," he recalled.

A police report of the incident obtained by the Journal clearly lists Grier as the victim.

However, the authority moved forward blaming Grier.

On Jan. 9, 2025, Grier was served an eviction notice and summons to appear in Forsyth County District Court. In the accompanying complaint, the housing authority alleged that Grier was the aggressor in the lobby confrontation and that his conduct violated the terms of his lease.

"In this altercation, you struck another tenant several times and had to be pulled apart from them," the complaint claimed. "After further investigation, you were witnessed following the tenant in the stairwell and then followed the tenant through the lobby, where a second altercation occurred, where you attacked the tenant again. After the second altercation, you followed the tenant outside the building and continued to argue with the tenant as they waited on the (Winston-Salem Police Department) to arrive."

The magistrate who presided over Grier's case viewed the same video that the police watched the day of the incident. He dismissed the case "with prejudice."

"It would have been a false narrative, anyway," Grier said. "So the judge would have seen through it."

The with-prejudice designation forbids the housing authority from refiling the same claim.

'You can't do that'

Advocates suggest ASPIRE's attempts to evict the three elderly tenants fit a pattern of retribution against tenants who dare to speak their minds and organize.

Chisholm, the Healy Towers resident whose eviction was overturned, insists the conduct represents something even worse.

"Why are you trying to put me out?" she asked of ASPIRE, as her neighbor Threatt nodded nearby. "You're supposed to bring me in and keep me in shelter. I'm not supposed to be homeless."

Organizations like ASPIRE exist to help people like her, Threatt and Grier, Chisholm added.

"You're messing with the weak," she said. "You can't do that."

Scripture clearly lays out the expectations for ASPIRE and organizations like it that exist to serve those with few options, Chisholm added.

"The word of God says those who are strong speak for those who are weak," she said, citing Proverbs 31:8-9. "What about you? It could be you. It could be your loved one someday.

"All I'll say is it's demonic activity from someone who has an evil heart, and why would you want to do that?"

ASPIRE responds

ASPIRE Executive Director Ted Ortiviz defended his organization's treatment of tenants and insisted that "retaliatory eviction is legally and morally wrong, and it has not happened under my watch – and it will not happen under my watch."

He added the following:

"Because of privacy obligations, I cannot comment on any individual resident or specific case. However, speaking generally, when we become aware of conduct that may violate a lease or affect community safety - such as repeated lease violations, serious disruption of the community, or conduct that threatens the safety of residents or staff - we review the situation carefully and take action consistent with our policies and legal responsibilities. In some cases, that process can include eviction proceedings when warranted.

"Our goal is always to respond thoughtfully, fairly, and with the best interests of the broader resident community in mind. In some cases, a third-party tribunal (such as a hearing officer, magistrate, or judge) determines that an eviction is not warranted. In that case, we accept the ruling of the court, knowing that we took the action we believed to be required based on the evidence we had available at the time. We recognize that many of these types of cases are "he said, she said" in nature, and we therefore defer to independent third-party fact finders (such as the courts) to assess the appropriate outcome best supported by the evidence. When such findings are made, we accept the result and consider the matter final."

On tenant and advocacy, Ortiviz added:

"We value the role that resident advocates and community organizations play in helping residents raise concerns and stay engaged. In fact, we have approximately 100 residents involved in various forms of resident advocacy in our community. Suggesting that three of those 100 having had lease enforcement actions taken against them over the course of a year is indicative of targeting or retaliation is contrary to statistical evidence.

"It is also contrary to our entire philosophy. I meet regularly with residents and community organizations; and I have even invited Housing Justice Now, Crystal Towers United, Healy Towers United to join my town halls meetings where I engage in meaning full dialogue with our residents. We welcome that engagement and see it as an important part of maintaining trust and transparency."

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 5:46 AM.