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50
St. Mary's Centre, a Play Centre for similar children managed
by the Hayes Parish Church School Trust started in September,
1965, and has been a most successful venture.
A Social Club for mentally handicapped adolescents, "Gateway",
was set up in Penge by the Mental Welfare Officer
responsible for the area. The Club met a great need and by
offering a wide range of activities is proving to be most popular
with the youngsters and parents alike.
Development Anticipated Shortly
It is hoped to open a new Junior Training Centre in the
Beckenham area early in 1967. The Centre will have special
features essential for the comprehensive care of the mentally handicapped
child. The parents of very young children will be offered a
place in the Kindergarten. An Intense Care Unit with an indoor
sand pit and paddling pool will accommodate children with multiple
handicaps.
MENTAL ILLNESS
The first Table has given some idea of the volume of work
carried out by the Mental Welfare Officers. The monthly returns
from which the data on the Table were compiled showed an
upward trend in new referrals and the increasing awareness of the
public and various agencies that effective help can be given to a
mentally disordered person without admitting him/her to hospital.
In this aspect of his work, the M.W.O. is handicapped by the lack
of supportive establishments like Hospitals, Sheltered Workshops
and Work Centres, but a modest boarding out scheme has been
operating successfully from the beginning.
A Hostel in Beckenham for rehabilitation of the mentally ill
should be ready for occupation before the end of 1966.

The ratio between informal and statutory admissions and the
relative frequency of the sections used by the M.W.Os. is comparable