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81
RESIDENTIAL ACCOMMODATION WITHIN THE
BOROUGH OTHER THAN HOSTELS
Group Home
A large, five-bedroomed detached house was made available in
the Anerley area. The Housing Department undertook a complete
interior redecoration, also making good electrical wiring and
plumbing systems. Despite the eventual short notice of commencement
of tenancy, the house was equipped to a minimum
stage for occupancy.
One of the main difficulties in a venture of this nature is
getting all the items of furniture and equipment together in a
short space of time, especially as there are no facilities for
storing furniture, offered from time to time, until a venture of
this kind is mooted.
Help in obtaining some items of furniture, carpets and a
cooker was given by the Council for Social Service. Other items
and equipment were obtained from various sources by members
of the local social work team. Much time and effort was given
by a few members of the local social work team in collecting
items, humping them and arranging the lay-out of the house.
Cleaning, scrubbing and polishing was also a very essential task
undertaken by a few of the social workers—much of it in their
own time.
The three clients, who it was felt could take up residence at
this home, two schizophrenic women who had good work records
since hospital discharge and a more middle-aged, depressed
woman, helped with the sewing of curtains, sorting of linen, etc.
Because of the non-availability of any money for this venture,
there were initial problems in respect of curtain rails and
fittings and adequate floor and stair covering. To some extent,
the former problem resolved itself by various means, but only
in a temporary fashion.
Despite these difficulties, the three clients were eager and
willing to move into their new home during the last weekend in
September. These three women seem to have settled down quite
well. They each buy their own food for weekdays, mainly because
they go out in the morning and return in the evening at different
times. At weekends they come together rather like a family and
decide on what meals they will have and then share the cost.
They each pay the same weekly rental to the visiting social
worker, which covers rent, rates, lighting and heating. As might
be expected, there had been some apprehension on the part of
the residents, but with careful and fairly regular support from the
social workers, these women are gradually settling in their new
environment.