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51
I am indebted to the Chairman and Members of the Executive Committee of
the Lambeth Old People's Welfare Association for allowing me to include the
Allowing report on the activities of the Association.
It should be noted that the Association's year covers the period from 1st
April, 1962 to 31st March, 1963 and therefore does not co-incide strictly with
the period covered by my Annual Report.
REPORT
The winter of 1962 will be vividly remembered by many elderly people as
a time of hardship and suffering. However, the memory of their misery, will
be balanced in the minds of the members of the Executive Committee by the
knowledge that the winter demonstrated quite simply the appropriateness of its
Prior decision to develop and extend the work of the Association.
The new Executive Committee, at its first meeting in July, decided to
set up a Sub-Committee to study the work of the Association in relation to the
needs of the community it serves. The Sub-Committee has held a meeting in
nearly every month since its inception. A special report on old people's
Welfare in Lambeth was prepared in November and considered in detail by the
Executive Committee and the Council's Public Health Committee. The
consequences of this hard work and heart searching were threefold: first, it
was decided to appoint a Deputy Organising Secretary, to be responsible for
the establishment and working of a comprehensive welfare visiting service,
and in the first instance three full-time welfare assistants to be trained as
Welfare visitors; second, it was agreed that a part-time Accommodation
Officer, and a part-time organiser for a new "Good Neighbour and Sitter-In
Service" should be appointed. And finally, it was decided that active steps
should be taken to acquire sites, or premises, for the establishment of a
central kitchen for the meals services, and for day centres or day clubs
available to people living in every part of the Borough. The last item is
still at the planning stage, meanwhile the other developments are already in
Progress, and more details on how they will affect the day to day work of the
Association are contained in subsequent sections of this report.
general Welfare Work
The foundation of all the Association's work lies in the maintenance of
close contact with elderly people; it is therefore gratifying to be able to
report that during the year under review there were 8,550 new contacts with
People already known to the Association, an increase of 3,500 over last
year. in addition, 2,124 new people became known, 545 of whom called at
the office for help or advice. The Association's staff continue to learn from
the queries that are raised by the old people: and even on occasions when
is finally found that an individual's problem cannot be solved, the investi
gation by the staff on behalf of the person helps them to solve more readily
another persor's difficulty.