WPA had been involved in the public debate about prostitution since the turn of the century. They believed that public policy was the most effective way to deal with prostitution and, by the 1930's, thought of prostitution as a social problem rather than as a crime. Nonetheless, WPA's humanitarian approach of providing shelter, counseling, and medical care to prostitutes failed to alleviate a problem that was at heart economic. In fact, it was more likely that women returned to prostitution in the absence of more viable economic opportunities and more meaningful work. World War 11 brought an end to the miseries of the Great Depression although hardships and deprivations of another ilk beset Europe, the United States and Pacific Rim.
Work is plentiful, pay higher and there is a greater variety of positions.
Because of wartime, the Centennial for the Hopper Home was not lavishly celebrated, but noted and acknowledged in 1944-45. During the forties, WPA launched a resident after-care program at Bedford Hills, placed a social worker in Women's Court to serve women waiting arraignment, and established a group therapy program at the House of Detention and at the Hopper Home. Her long commitment to the agency began as a teenager, enlisted by her aunt, Rachel Hopper Powell, to escort released prisoners from prison to Hopper Home and to locate the children of women in prison and report on their general welfare. WPA by this time was having to dip into its capital to cover operating costs. While it was receiving kudos from city agencies, it was not receiving sufficient funding from them.