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THE WELFARE OF THE ELDERLY
The Alice Burrell Centre inSidmouth Road which was opened in June is a venture of
which all concerned can be proud. Though based on other centres, and profiting from
their experience it is the only local authority centre of its kind in the country and
combines in one centre a kitchen, a dining hall and a lounge. Many visitors have come
to see it.
The kitchen provides the meals for the meals-on-wheels service and also for up to
90 old people to have lunch in the centre each day. The numbers attending there have
steadily increased throuhgout the year and, though the careful selection of members by
the social workers has slowed the increase, it has had the effect, as intended, of
ensuring that all those who attend are people for whom the food and fellowship are a
real need not obtainable elsewhere.
The many gifts from well wishers have made both the hall and the lounge very
welcoming places and the lounge in particular has a warmth and friendliness seldom met
in centres of this kind.
The clubs which meet at this centre have flourished and one or two experimental
projects have been tried. One of these - a regular Wednesday evening entertainment
has proved awinner and there is no doubt that this attractive centre has brought a joy
to life that many old people must have felt had gone for good.
The luncheon club at Davies Lane continues to flourish and the new one started in
August, 1964 at Emmanuel Hall to coincide with the movement of the A. 1. club in Elm
Park Road to these premises, continues to flourish. I do not think that anyone who has
seen one of these clubs in action can doubt their worth and it is to be hoped that
luncheon clubs for the elderly will hecome an ever increasing part of the community
life.
In April three visitors to the elderly began a systematic survey of the whole
borough which will probably take about three years to complete. By systematic visiting
they have found many old people who are unaware of facilities available to them and a
number of cases where a serious need could be remedied. These latter alone justify the
service but the putting of old people in touch with facilities that add a little extra
to the interest in their lives also has a value not to be underestimated. In addition
these visitors have been compiling a register of old people which has been of the
greatest value in channelling an enormous amount of goodwill (expressed by the public
as Christmas parcels, shows and outings) to the people for whom it means the most.
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