Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-12-29
MORE POOR HERE
THAN LAST YEAR
Associated Charities Unable to
Meet Demands Made Upon 1t
Without More Help.

The number Of destitute families IN
Wilmington is greater tins year than
last Agents of the Associated Charities
arc working overtime, and members of
the Visiting Nurse Association, who are
ministering to the poor, are also engaged
every minute. These destitute samilics
are not those where there is an able
bodied man who could act as bread
winner They are families whose bread
winner has died, or has deserted them,
or is so incapacitated by illness that he
can no longer bring in hving wage
In city like Wilmington, where
nearly every man is employed, and the
general level of prosperity is high, this
situation has caused considerable sur
prise among some uniformed persons.
"Wh hat Is the need of giving anything to
charity now, everybody Is working,
said one business man the other day.
lie did not know, however, that there
arc many families where there IS no one
who can earn enough to keep them, wher"
there an, many little children who de
maud constant caro- and attention, and
who must hc kept warm and we'll led
The bill for milk alone for the children
Of the destitute poor amounts to nearly
500 per month. Their arr now ~
families on the list nf tho Associated
Charities who must receive regular pen
sions. besides fuel and groccrlcs, IN order
that they can live.
Poverty and distress arr especially
hard tn bear when the brcnd winner has
passcd the rrimc of lie and his prospects
ior earning living arc small I he Aseo
cjated Charities has on its list an aged
couple The man is III ot m lncurhhl"
disease The woman IS blind 1h" aseo-
cation has got in touch with relatives
and thcv are helping IN the relief winch II
supplemented hy the Associated Charities
workers Iii another c;,so at an aged
couple. the man II feeble ard ca1s hut
little. and the woman IS nearly bind
4 benevolent individual y CArIrg for tn"
family through the Associated harltlcs,
and hosp,tal care Is leing provided for
the woman Sornc az the most pItllu
caScs ar those 81 widows who have small
families aud who do thc,r utmost 10 max
both ends meet In onr ease on tho list
81 the Associated Charities there is s
widow with six small children The
income from losilrs paws the Trnt. hut The
mother il not able to leave the children
and 20 out o. work for wages. Il Is
necessary for tho Associated Charities
IL give her weekly pension and also 70
surpv milk for the little ones.
1kc Associated Chaiit,,s IS tow srn6
inc out an apJCal "a the people Of vii
mlngton. both ~ the regular s'il scrlbcrE
and t. others who arr not ugtlar sub
scrilcrs hut who will fol interested in
helping along tho work of caring for tho
destitute, 10 send IN contributions for
the ann,,al budget
The budget this vrar II fer $50. COO,
which IL the same amount as that of
last year in spite of the increase N pricC
az clothes. food horse rent and III other
nccc@SsiticS of life which arc p'st rs vital
Ia thp poor as thcy arc 70 anyone ciso
The constructive policy of the Associated
Charities is aiming 70 keep ;h" families
together wherever possible Recently
there was woman with one little girl
who had hccn deserted ny her husband
She ohtaincd employment and rcntcd an
,nfurnlshcd room AZ ! very cheap price.
but she was entirely without furniture,
or money with which II purchase II
A loan 81 second hand furniture made II
possible for her 10 provide home fer
herself and lit;lc EUl
The influenza epidemic of last year
swept avav the bread winner III many
families and threw tic widow aud chil
ircn on pull charity for support
Many az the fathers were Young men with
fan2ilh- of httt ebiidrcu, ard the A-so
ciatcd Charities points ont that this fac
raised during tic past year the list q