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125
Mothers' Clubs, etc.
Mothers' Clubs are flourishing in three of the Council's welfare
clinics and between them they held 66 sessions attracting 437
attendances. A further 642 attendances were made to 42 sessions
of sewing clubs during 1968.
The profound need for these groups arises from the present-day
pattern of life which takes the woman out of the home and
encourages her to seek the status of wage-earner as well as the
husband. The advent of a family today is merely a temporary
phase, sometimes of only a few years, when the mother spends her
time at home with the children before returning to fields where
her earning talent lies.
At first, this period at home with small infants can be strange
and lonely. Frequently her own mother as well as her friends
are all working, so she has no-one to talk to, nothing to do but
household chores and nothing to look forward to but interminable
years of boredom. The gregarious world in which she lived prior
to her pregnancy has ill prepared her for the domestic life and
she may become deeply disturbed. These clubs provide her with
an opportunity to meet other women in an identical dilemma and
an opportunity to create a fresh life with her contemporaries in
intellect and interest.
Four other such clubs called "Home Advice Groups" are
organised by the Greenwich Council of Social Service, two of these
also being held at Borough Welfare Centres.
Co-ordinating Committee
This Committee was established to ensure that full use is made
of the preventive and other services, both statutory and voluntary,
to avoid the break-up of families and to prevent the neglect or
ill-treatment of children. It consists of representatives from the
Health and Welfare, Children's and Housing Departments, the
Inner London Education Authority and the Housing Department
of the Greater London Council. When necessary representatives
from other statutory and voluntary bodies are invited to attend.
During 1968 the Committee met only twice. This is a reflection
of the fact that the field level and housing case conferences have
so improved teamwork within the statutory and voluntary services
that the need for such meetings has been correspondingly lessened.
The Committee considered the report of the sub-committee
they had set up during 1968 to explore what further help could be
given in those areas where problems seem to multiply and it recommended
that a five-year project should be established to explore