View report page

48
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
following report on the activities of the Association.
It should be noted that the Association's year covers the period from 1st
April, 1964 to 31st March, 1965 and therefore does not co-incide strictly with
the period covered by my Annual Report.
REPORT
The reaching of retirement age may mean loss of paid employment, but it
should not mean an abrupt transition from being a contributor to feeling a dependent
and helpless member of the community. Happily, the giving up of the ties and
responsibilities of full-time employment means the opening of doors to new
interests and experiences; and the aim of the Old People's Welfare Association is
to study the needs of old people and to encourage provision of a better quality of
life for all the elderly.
During the year emphasis has been on the need for voluntary help, and there
has been a great response from people all over the Borough offering to visit a
lonely old person. We are hoping to set up many small groups of volunteers with
a leader, and we already have three groups operating. We also have established
groups in four schools, and several youth clubs. Youth helping age has been a
popular theme with the press recently and the idea has been put forward that this
is something new. This is not so, in 1950 the National Old People's Welfare
Council published a pamphlet "Youth Helps Age" and during the past ten years
there have been a number of conferences between Youth Organisations and Old
People's Welfare Committees. Much valuable work has been done and some
organised youth groups have been successful in giving regular services. Usually,
however,, short-term projects, such as re-decorating or tidying up neglected gardens
are most likely to succeed, and these are the jobs which can be given to schools.
Requests for help are many and varied, from taking a dog out each day
its aged owner is ill, to taking an old person to visit his or her partner in hospital
From claiming from a bag-wash company for lost washing to helping someone to
claim against the London Transport Executive for an injury received while mounting
a bus.
Visiting
During the year, the six Welfare Visitors appointed to the Staff ot the
Association have dealt with 12,700 enquiries and made 5,716 visits. For the
most efficient working the Borough has been divided into six districts, and each
Visitor has his or her own district. The task of the Welfare Visitor is not only to
visit the old people, but also to unite all the voluntary effort within the district.
By this division, the Association is endeavouring to break down the Borough
sizeable areas, and so introduce a more friendly, village like community attitude
in the districts. It is already meeting with great success in this direction.