View report page

169
Now, under the control of the Greenwich Society for Mentally
Handicapped Children, this nursery provides accommodation for
some 15 mentally handicapped young children of whom 13 are
sponsored by this Council.
Boarding Out
A few adult subnormals are boarded out with local landladies
and where the patient is unable to earn sufficient for his keep or
where statutory benefits fall short of needs, facilities exist for the
Council to subvent.
Long and short term care schemes are successfully introduced
and advantage is taken of hospital facilities, approved voluntary
homes and of private accommodation supervised by the Hove
Guardianship Society. Financial responsibility is assumed by the
Council and no charge accrues to the parents but the Council's
assessment scale is applied to adults entitled to grants from the
Ministry of Social Security.
Clubs
Club facilities for the "over 16s" are provided on Thursday
evening at the Park Vista Adult Centre and attendances usually
range between 25 and 30. Managed mainly by members of the
Blackwall Centre staff, the club is visited on occasions by the
Principal Mental Health Officer.
At the Albany Institute, Creek Road, a club organised by the
Blackfriars Settlement caters for the needs of E.S.N, boys and girls
from the Greenwich and Lewisham boroughs and this Council
meets half the cost of the social worker's salary.
The Court Youth Club, held at the Congregational Church
Rooms, Court Road, Eltham, on Monday evenings, encourages
the mixing of normal "teenagers" with the mentally handicapped
but this attempt at integration has not been too successful. This
venture is entirely voluntary and no financial responsibility
devolves on the Council.
During the current year and under the auspices of the Greenwich
Society for Mentally Handicapped Children, a second "Gateway"
club for subnormal and E.S.N. Juniors has been established
at Eltham on Monday evenings 7 - 9 p.m.
Support is provided by the Council in the shape of a minibus
to convey children on Wednesday evenings to a club at Griffin
Manor School which is organised for the "under 16s" by the
Greenwich Society for Mentally Handicapped Children. Attendances
vary between 18 and 20.