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at Porters Avenue, thus making contact with Day Centre members as well as direct
Club referrals. Proximity of the Club to the Day Centre has enabled us to
integrate Day Centre/Club members into preparation of refreshments, etc., for
social evenings previously organised by staff because of lack of contact with
Club members during the week.
The move to new premises gave a natural break which was used by the
members of the mental health staff to delegate more responsibility to Club
members, e.g.
(a) transport was no longer provided as the new premises were on an
adequate bus route.
(b) two members gradually took over responsibility for preparing
refreshments. Previous rotas had fallen through because of
inconsistency of attendance.
The influx of a younger element from the Day Centre stimulated wider
interests. Activities included:
1. Visits from and to other similar clubs.
2. Parties for all past and present members.
3. Demonstrations from outside bodies, e.g. North Thames Gas Board
Cookery, Milk Marketing Board, Yardley - Make-up, Flower Arranging,
Morris Dancing.
4. Trips to local theatres.
5. Group activities within the Club - Community Singing, Beetle
Drives, Play Reading, Bingo.
It is often not necessary to organise anything in an evening when one is
certain that everyone is making contact with another person through the playing
of a game, through conversation or through dancing to the latest 'pops'. On
the other hand, to use the second half of the Club evening for an organised
group activity is sometimes very necessary in order to (a) stimulate the group
as a whole, or (b) include the isolated person who very often lives alone and
for whom the Club is the only contact with others. Beetle Drives and Morris
Dancing have claimed notable success here.
Residential Accommodation - Maisonette
In May 1965, the Health Committee decided to allocate a maisonette for the
use of patients no longer in need of hospital care, but with no home to go to,
so that they could be discharged to live in the community.
The maisonette, which is on the first floor of a large new block, has two
single bedrooms and one double bedroom. Each bedroom was furnished with a
single bed, wardrobe, dressing table, bedside cabinet and chair for each person,
making four places in all. The lounge/dining room and kitchen are communal and
furnishings included cooker, refrigerator, drying cabinet and all other household
necessities. There is a plentiful supply of linen.
Prior to the maisonette being ready for use, we approached both Warley and
Severalls Hospitals to find out what female patients they had who could readily
be discharged, but the immediate response was very disheartening and the place
was standing ready for occupation for nearly six months before the first patients
were admitted.
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