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St. Alban's Association now numbers over 500 active members who
share in all these activities as well as the entertainments and holidays
organised for them. But our service is not limited to just these old
people. What is important is to help all elderly people who have some
problems, especially those who through need or loneliness, feel that
their span of happiness in life is over. We encourage them to come
to St. Alban's Hall, to meet and make friends, and to take part in
classes and entertainments ; if they are shy and do not want to join
in, they can read the papers over a cup of tea - anything to get away
from the four walls of their room. And if they cannot come to us,
we must go to them. There are many who are visited regularly, some
of whom we are able to bring in now and again for a change of environment.
In certain cases we collect pensions and disburse them on behalf
of the incapacitated, pay the rent, gas and electricity, install
fire-guards and special gas cookers. This is perhaps a fitting place
to pay tribute to the statutory organisations with whom we are constantly
in touch on behalf of the old people, and thanks to whose
co-operation we can make the old people happier.
Visiting
We have been fortunate this year in having more visitors available
for this most essential side of our work, but we still have room
for more people who would be willing to give up just a few hours a
week. How often does an almoner or a doctor ring us asking for services
to an old person, adding" She lives alone "or" She feels so
lonely ". And yet sometimes the lonely are the most difficult to
approach. Unhappy experience of the world or the habit of solitude
over a long period, and perhaps mistrust, may cause reticence until
the old person realises that here is a friend, and the pent-up thoughts
over private worries are unloosed to a sympathetic listener. A quiet
talk to such a visitor is a landmark in the drab life of a lonely
and perhaps troubled old person, and if it can be a regular visit,
will mean an event to look forward to every week. The University of
Hull students have formed a Social Service Organisation, so far some
200 strong, who are devoting regular times to the visiting of old
people. If there is scope for this in Hull, how much more is it
necessary in a borough like Southwark, which counts fourteen thousand
old age pensioners. We have, in fact, two sides to our visiting : the
case worker who investigates the problems and the background of an
old person in an endeavour to find a solution to a difficult situation,
and the regular visitor who means so much to the old lady who, from
disability or old age, cannot leave her room and longs for some contact
with the world outside.
Restaurant and Meals-on-Wheels Service
The restaurant at St. Alban's Hall is still very popular and
serves on an average 250 meals per day. The warm, cheerful atmosphere,
enlivened by music, attracts the old people, whether they come just
for dinner, served at 12.15 p.m., or whether they come earlier for