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would make a more satisfactory life for herself and her child with
her own family and friends in Australia,, There was close liaison
in this case with the International Social Service, the National
Council for the Unmarried Mother and Her Child and the Department
of Health and Social Security,, The International Social Service
obtained the help of a social worker in the Department of Health
in Australia and, together with the Kingston Branch of the Department
of Health and Social Security, the National Council for the
Unmarried Mother and Her Child and the Buttle Trust, helped with
the financial aspects of the homeward voyage.
This year the team were impressed by the remarkably generous
response to the appeals they made through schools, clinics and churches
for toys for Christmas,. We appreciate the generosity not only of the
givers of the toys but also of those who organised the collecting of
them. We understand that some individuals were even enthusiastic
enough to organise house to house collections,, This, we felt,
shows as evidence of a community spirit in Kingston which is perhaps
not utilised as much as it should be. The gifts were very warmly
received by the children and it would no doubt give great pleasure
to the donors if they could see as we do how these things are
treasured not only for themselves but for the interest of the
community they symbolise.
Of the 204 families included on the register of families
"at risk1*, 99 - almost half = are living in the vicinity of Norbiton,
either on the Norbiton Estate, in the new Cambridge Road development,
or in the adjacent streets of older dwellings. This high concentration
of families functioning less than satisfactorily presents a
major problem to all the health, educational and social services,
whose work is limited because of the below average standards generally
accepted in the area. It is wondered whether the services are too
remote and are failing to be used to the full by large numbers of
those who most need them - the socially isolated, depressed, anxious,
inarticulate and sometimes obstructive families who continue to react
to offers of help with withdrawal,, It is feared that human potential
is being wasted on a large scale.
It is considered that the family casework service might be
more effective if it was located in this area, where at present social
services are scanty in spite of the concentration of needc The influx
of families into the Cambridge Road development is likely to increase
the need for some kind of family advice centre which schools, doctors,
health visitors and other social workers can use when appropriate to
bridge the gap between services and needs.