View report page

37
Association were one of the first to do this in this borough. They now
have three flatlet houses which between them house 32 elderly people,
including 3 housemothers. A fourth house is being converted which
will house 7 elderly people.
Ideally a flatlet house or a flatlet block should be large enough
to accommodate also a warden or supervisor. The Borough Council
during the year made progress with the building of two blocks of small
flats for the elderly at Normanton Street/Siddons Road which between
them will house 31 old people with a warden, and during the year a
start was made with designing a block of flats in Crofton Park Road
which will house 24 people and a warden.
It is known also that the Lewisham Darby and Joan Club in
Stanstead Road have been considering the possibilities of building a
block of flatlets for the elderly on their premises.
(l) Concerts
The individual clubs arrange entertainment on their own on some
or many of the days their afternoon club meets, and in addition they
often have a special concert or entertainment at Christmas. During the
year the Public Health committee decided to run a series of concerts
at the Town Hall for the elderly. The first one, which was regarded as
experimental, was held in March 1963 and was attended by some 900
old people from the clubs. A service of charabancs was arranged to bring
in members from some of the peripheral clubs and take them back again
after the concert. The concert was regarded as highly successful and it
is proposed to do a series of six monthly concerts (except December)
in the winter of 1963/64. Some at any rate of these will be open to old
people whether they attend clubs or not.
(m) Grants
It has been mentioned earlier in this section that the Public Health
committee has for many years been giving maintenance grants to the
voluntary clubs in the borough and also to two or three voluntary clubs
just outside the borough boundary but which have a fairly considerable
proportion of Lewisham residents amongst their members. Details
for 1962 are shown in paragraph 5 below.
Luncheon club9 have in the past also been in receipt of grant of
about Is. for each meal supplied and the same grant has been available
for recipients under the meals-on-wheels scheme. This grant has been
paid by the borough council from money received for that purpose
from the county council, but from April 1963 the borough council will
provide this money without help from the county. (This is a decision
which applies to all metropolitan boroughs.)
4. The Lewisham Old People's Welfare Association
The Lewisham Old People's Welfare Association (LOPWA), so
far as the Borough Council's work for old people's welfare is concerned,
is the main body in the area and has affiliated to it the various other bodies
to which the Borough Council makes grant. LOPWA during the year
continued all its routine work, and expanded in all branches. Notes
on its main activities during the year April 1962/63 (based on a report
by the secretary) are as follows:—