New Britain herald., 1921-10-13

hefedisy, they are sui future Citizens: l a!ve them 8 chance: The children are nes te blame. Because shey are born handicapped Is ne reason fer keeping them 90: AS yet Connecticut has nd system for discovering feeble minded ness in children, Ali social workers recognize feeble -naindednese as She of the hardest problems to meet: | When 1t Is toe late te help them ef save the damage done by then1 the real cause of many inIsdeings of men in feformatefies after years of ex= pensive care Is found te be feeble= mindedness:
 5000 Feeble minded.
 | There are 5,ooe feeble minded chil- dren In Connecticut, 2,590 of whom are In cur elementary schools, with only 4eo receiving special training With early training and guidance they may become happy, self-supporting individuals Left without, they will be burdens and are liable te be Arl actual menace te the een1Faunity: There are others who are crippled, deaf and b1ind-we don't know hew many. Only small percent are be- ing cared for who might be cured.
 Health Center Needed. | Hundreds of our own New Britain children are undernourished. We hope the time will come when our city will have a health center so that the Welfare association may refer a fam- | fly to the health center supervisor who will see that they secure proper medi- cal care. We use the facilities at hand, the private organizations and clinics who at their best can only scratch tho surface. We hope that some day all the schools will weigh and measure the children and dis cover the lnderfed and provide neces- sary nutriment to the frail ones. We hope that some day all various clinics, private health agencies, etc., may be co-ordinated in health center under the supervision of the citys public health department. The world is realizing the importance of keeping we'll, along constructive, educational lines. We are beginning to realize the wastefulness of patching up a bad | job, and the economical value of pre- ventive and constructive service.
 Cooperation Needed.
 Tn order to accomplish the most telling work with families, the Vel operation of all other agencies inter
 
 service exchange located in the of fee of the Welfare association is the clearing house for all social workers. It is here to tell who knows that new family coming to your attention for the first time. We shope for a much firmer team spirit this winter, | with all the family workers, includ- | ing the churches.
 l Dental Clinic.
 The social workers conference Is combining efforts and ideas for fur thering such activities as will meet the needs of the community. We are l hopeful and encouraged that there seems a possibility of dental clinic | in the future. Social workers have felt this great need for several years and have just kept pushing.
 During the past years work,j special emphasis has been placed on the well l fare of the children. Because of the difficulty confronting so many fami- | lies this past year in their inability to find employment, and the resulting 1 lack of proper nutrition for the chill I dren, the Welfare association has felt it absolutely necessary to pro- vide milk in many instances Milk is the small children's food. Dozens of l families dependent on the city for all sustenance receive sufficient food for the adults and larger children.
 Sees Municipal Farm. | . Perhaps some day a municipal farm will provide the essential food for the babies and little children. milk, without which they grow fral, under weight, anemic, and become the back ward ones in our schools, the easy prey to tuberculosis and other com municab1e diseases. Bread and coffee do not make rugged youngsters. Forty-six of our families most un- l dernourished boys and girls proved | the value of plenty of. milk while at the New Britain Fresh Air Camp for two weeks, by bringing home rosy cheeks, bright eyes, several pounds of. weight and a most noticeable amount of gain in pep" Think of the bene- fit Of an all the year round proper diet.
 For Better Teeth.
 Aching teeth and painful a,bscesses mean a loss of health, and many a boy and girl and sometimes suffering mother have been escorted to the dentist who has relieved the con- di.ion at a normal expense to the Association.
 Boys Club Helps. Working in close contact with the juvenile court, the small boys lacking friend and special training have found the answer to the needed out let for their energies at the Boys club Inc Welfare Association has endeavor- ed to furnish the girls with a similar opportunity Strenuous efforts to come out ahead in hygienic con- test resulted in clean heads, winter teeth, presentable fingers, the last an asset for the sewing club. After a physical examination, 27 girls, through the kind service of the Y. w. C.. A., have found fun in cleanliness through the medium of soap and showers, ex- citing plunges and strenuous efforts to really swim in the pool
 | Other Service.
 Fifty-two temporary days work and steady employment in 27 instances