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49
HOME HELP SERVICE
Miss J.E. Heath
Home Help Supervisor
"We must help each other; it is the law of nature.."
La Fontaine
The history of the Home Help Service is a comparatively
short one. The roots of it lie deep in the early works of
charity. Although the pioneers of the service were primarily
concerned with the care of the mother and her new baby, today,
following the sweeping social changes wrought by two wars, a
much more comprehensive service is necessary. Relatives and
friends who once provided the domestic support for the sick and
aged are now part of the vast economic pattern of modern society,
and have limited time and energy available. Many families are
scattered and private domestic help is at a premium.
The National Health Service Act 1946 consolidating the acts
and orders concerned refers to the Domestic Help. This somewhat
formal title has given way to the simple but more descriptive
name "Home Help.."
The home is described as the abode of the family of which
one forms a member. To those in full health home is a centre of
ideas, activity, ambitions, plans and hopes. To the sick and
aged it is not only an abode, it assumes a much greater significance.
It is a world and in many instances the last refuge and
the right to remain in it will be defended by every ounce of
failing strength. Today, as always when the responsibility for
maintenance becomes too great it must be shared. Adding its contribution
to the vast unrecorded effort of relatives and friends,
the Home Help Service plays its part.
Some idea of the work carried out by the Croydon Home Help
Service can be gained from statistics given on page 126 of the
Appendix. The problems of a mother confined to bed are manifold
and great are the responsibilities of the Home Help in trying to
relieve some of these problems, but an extract from a letter of
appreciation gives a personal answer...
"It is natural at such times as these to be rather apprehensive
about the type of woman who would come into the house
and have a completely free hand without any supervision.
However, after just one day with us Mrs. put our minds
completely at rest and indeed we found that we have gained a
very valued friend. We have been most impressed by her
energy, competence, thoroughness and honesty...."