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67
WELFARE SERVICES
Establishment
The staff establishment of the Welfare Section at 31st December, 1968,
was as follows
Principal Officer for Social Work (Welfare and Mental Health Services)
Deputy for Welfare Services Home Teachers for the Blind 3
Professional Case Worker Industrial Work Organiser
Social Welfare Officers 6 Handicraft Organiser
Trainees 2 Work Centre Assistant
The demands of the Welfare Services continue to increase and this
is most evident in the care of the elderly and physically handicapped.
Efforts are continually being made to collect information concerning
the actual and potential problems of the elderly. The acquisition of this
knowledge is still extremely difficult but the compilation of a comprehensive
register is steadily progressing.
Provision of Temporary Accommodation for Families rendered homeless
The number of applications for temporary accommodation received
during 1968 was greater than for the previous year and domestic dissension
remained the main cause of families breaking up. Professional advice and
assistance in many ways resulted in relatively few families reaching the
stage where the provision of accommodation was essential.
Close liaison is maintained with relevant departments of the Council
so that where possible the need for assistance is made known before
eviction becomes imminent. Domestic dissension and financial mismanagement
remain the main causative factors and the timely intervention
of the social worker giving advice and appealing to landlords and relatives
has in many instances resulted in some measure of agreement and eviction
being prevented. Other preventative measures are indicated when a family
is falling into arrears with rent. In these instances the social worker works
closely with the family in order to obtain a more realistic use of the money
available and ensure that payment of rent is regarded as a priority.
Of the 29 cases referred to the Rent Arrears Sub-Committee of the
Housing Committee, 9 cleared their arrears with the help and advice of the
social worker, 1 left the district, 6 showed some improvement in managing
their affairs, 6 unfortunately showed no progress towards recovery from
their difficulties and efforts are being continued to assist the remainder to
clear their arrears.
Accommodation
Additional intermediate accommodation in the form of 2 units in
Greenhill Road and 2 units in Oxford Road was made available during the
year for intermediate accommodation. Re-allocation of the temporary
accommodation, where possible, led to arrangements which allowed five
husbands to be re-united with their families. The total provision of units of
accommodation at the end of 1968 was 19.