Evening star., 1926-03-28
SOCIAL WORKERS
GIVE PRACTICAL AID
Associated Charities Visitors
Save Many Families
Facing Tragedy.

How the Associated Charities.
through its trained social workers.
serves the community by extending
in practical and constructive way
the helping hand to deserving fami-
lies brought to sudden misfortune by
loss of employment. illness, death and
other causes, and by protecting chill.
dren from physical and moral dan
gers, is amply illustrated in some typi-
cal cases Of aid given by the organi-
zation during the past year.
These instances, as related by the
social workers of the organization,
show how the circumstances Of each
case are thoroaSoy studied in decid-
ing upon the nlos' practical and eff
fectlVe means o. Sc y not only with
the funds al re disposal of the or
ganization, bu, = rough the personal
service and painst&A ng interest of its
workers. The inatances cited show
how q little help, given at the right
time and in the right way. is often
all that is needed TO tide 81 family over
Il serious crisis 1nA sestore to 1t
health, happiness ..St a>'ependence.
Take the case OF * JJserVice man,
with a young wife -ad 'ou small chill
dren, whose illness this Winter with a
serious attack of grip forced him to
give up, for an extended period, his
employment as an unskilled worker.
With his income cut off and no funds
to pay the rent of their small apart
ment, his wife became sick from over
work and worry as the bills piled up
and credit was exhausted at the store.
Family Put ION Feet"
A neighbor told the Associated
Charities of their plight and one of
their visitors imediately called on
the family. She called in a physician
to examine the wife and it vas found
that she must undergo an operation.
The husband, Ill himself was com
forted by being told that the visitor
would make all necessary arrange
ments She did. She found a tenn
porary home for the baby. and ar
ranged to have another family board
the father and three other children
while the wife was in the hospital. In
a few weeks the mother was able TO re-
turn home the husband to return 10
his job. and the family was happily
reunited.
Another case shows how the in
tervention of the Associated Charities
often is the channel through which
family connections of persons in need
learn OF the misfortune which they
had hesitated to reveal To them and
welcome the opportunity TO help
them. A 70-year-old lumber worker,
forced to give up his work by a stroke
of paralysis. faced deStitution Tor
himself and wife in their little two
room fiat The mans former en-
ployer got in touch with the As
soCiated Charities q visitor called al
the home and learned in conversation
with the destitute couple that they
had a Well-to-do married son living
in a Western city The son responded
at once to appeals for financial aid
and thanked the visitor for letting
him know of his parents situation.
In another case a widow. with two
daughters, II and ii years of age,
who made ends meet by taking in
washing and plain sewing, became III
and was told she must be removed to
the hospital for an operation. 1t
meant several weeks confinement
there and she dreaded leaving her
daughters. The physician called the
Associated Charities, and visitor
found the two girls alone in their |
rented room. She arranged for the
landlady to be responsible for the
girls after school hours and supplied
the room rent and food for the girl
They were thus protected and able to
continue at school, while the visitor
called almost daily to keep in touch
with them. The mother was relieved
of worry and this contributed much TO
her ultimate recovery.
Saved From Self.
Another case of entirely different
nature was that of a skilled machinist,
employed and receiving the top wages
of his craft, who applied to the Asso-
ciated Charities, as he said, for help,
not charity" His own story was that.
because of drinking and gambling into
which he was led by association with
a group of gamblers and bootleggers
around his shop, his payroll vanished
every week and he was of no use to
his wife and two children. He wanted
to be "set straight" he said.
The visitor assigned to the case in
troduced the machinist to a man
whose tact and judgment she believed
qualified him for the task. The new
friend cultivated the machinist. met
him after work hours, went home with
him. propped him up for little while,
and now the machinist is clear of debt
and has a savings account. he con-
tinues to keep in touch with his friend
and the social worker.
These are only a few typical cases
of the many in which the Associated
Charities serves not only the indi-
viduals involved, but the community as
we'll by carrying families through
crises. which otherwise might mean
infi inn a