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40
OLD PEOPLE'S WORK CENTRE.
A notable addition to the services available to old
people in the Borough was made in 1958. by the inauguration
of an Old Persons Work Centre by the Ealing Central Aid
Committee for the Employment and Recreation of Elderly
Citizens, This Committee is widely representative of
Ealing life, and membership includes nominees of the
Borough and County Councils and trade organisations. The
object of the scheme is to provide remunerative employment
for old people under protected conditions and thereby
give them a sense of being wanted by the community, to
enable them to overcome loneliness in communal work and
to provide themselves with small comforts from their
wages. The centre is not intended to be financially self
supporting, grants being made mainly by the Ealing Borough
and Middlesex County Councils. The Work Centre was estab
lished in the annexe of the Griffith Davies Memorial Hall
in February On the first day seven elderly people started
work and the number rapidly rose to 25. the capacity of
the accommodation. The hours of work are 10 a.m. to 12
noon five days a week and the pay is 1/-per hour. The
work done has included the following:-
(1) Sewing buttons on cards,
(2) Enclosure work for medical mailing
(3) Needlework, including making surgical trolley cloths
and roller towels for a factory, making drawsheets
and various repairs for a nursing home, repairing
factory overalls, and repairing bed and table linen
for an hotel.
(4) Stringing swing cards.
(5) Assembling ball point and fountain pens,
(6) Enclosing beads in cellophane envelopes and stapling.
It is obvious that no scheme of this nature can function
without the interest and co-operation of industrial firms.
In this respect we have been most fortunate. The average
age of those employed is 72 and ranges between 63 and 83,
The beneficial effect is apparent to any visitor to the
centre and the present centre, which was intended as a
pilot scheme, has demonstrated that expansion and extension
to all areas of the Borough is very worth while. It
is therefore planned to move to larger premises in Ealing
and in addition to open a second centre in Greenford,
All assisting in the organisation have up till now been
voluntary but clearly a paid Organiser is now essential
and plans to this end have been made.