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if they had been older, their handicap might have made them
ineligible, as the facilities in these homes only enable people
with a limited degree of handicap to be looked after. There are
no homes for the physically handicapped in this area, so accommodation
has to be found outside the district.
Services for the Deaf
The appointment of a senior medical social worker to
supervise the section's work for the deaf helped this work to
get more actively under way during the year. Already one of the
social welfare officers had been opening up the service, following
their attendance at a introductory course in communication with
the deaf. This second officer has also been on a similar course
and contact is being made with nearly all those known to be
deaf in the Borough, and their special needs are being ascertained.
The inauguration of a new voluntary organisation for deaf
children,the Havering Association for Parents of Deaf and Partially
Hearing Children, has helped bring public attention to the needs
of these children. The peripatetic teachers of the deaf, employed
by the Education Department, work very closely with the staff
of the Health and Welfare Department in providing services to
deaf and partially hearing children and their families.
Blind
During 1967 one of the social workers dealing with the blind
started a class for general mobility especially for the newly
blind. This takes place once a week, and people from all over
the Borough are introduced to it through their social workers. Those
who have been blind for some years and who would like to benefit
from lessons to help them to get around better in their home and
locally are also welcomed, and a number of varied activities
including old time dancing and better use of the white cane are
now undertaken by this class.
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