Evening star., 1935-06-26

Employment as Visiting house.
women and girls on relief rolls this
Fall.
Earlier F. E. r. A. experiments In
providing a helping hand to sick and
unemployed mothers in their homes
have proved 80 eminently successful" ="
according to Mrs Ellen s. WOODWARD,
assistant administrator in charge of
women's activities, that the household
service is to be continued on a wide
scale under the new Works Progress
Administration.
Already approximately 5000 of these
visiting housekeeperS and assistants
are organized under emergency home
making projects in 43 States, as one
of the kinds of employment to be
given to thousands of women on relief
rolls.
The plan serves a dual purpose. 1t
provides employment for needy women
and girls and an indispensable service
to mothers in distress.
The visiting houSekeepers have
cared for the sick, cleaned house,
helped prepare food. remodeled gar
ments, cared for children and in gen.
eral, Mrs. Woodward says, performed
all needed household tasks.
Few States Ignore Plan.
Some of the States have gone about
this service in rather large way.
Others are just beginning to accept
the idea, as in Maryland, where only
one homemaking project has been re-
ported. Virginia, with 80 projects
employing 139 woman workers, is
among the States that have fallen into
line more readily.
The District of Columbia, Connect
icut, Rhode Island, Delaware. New
Mexico and Oregon have ignored the
service In planning work relief. 1t
was reported, however, that Commits
sioner George E. Allen, newly ap-
pointed works progress administrator
for the District, Is considering the
plan In providing future work for
women on the local relief rolls.
1T is obvious that the duty OF aid
ing family heads in spending their
funds to maintain, regain or establish
a satisfactory home life Is OF i'm
measurable value not only to the relief
families but to the communities as a
whole" Mrs. Woodward said.
There is probably no phase OF
womanS work which has struck deep
er into the roots of human needs than
the work of the visiting housekeeper-
Brighten Up Homes
1.-THE visiting housekeepers them
selves are taken from the relief rolls
and can understand and appreciate
the problems to be met in homes
where resources are meager In the
extreme. They have gone into homes
where conditions of dirt and disorder
were almost unbelievable and with
out any expenditure of money have
brought about a remarkable trans
formation" she said.
Home making projects, as they are
set up in different places, naturally
differ in organization and scope, oe-
pending upon the special needs OF the
families, local conditions and avail
able workers. They fall into two gen
eral types, Mrs Woodward explained,
manual and educational.
The manual project employees wonl-
en- to 60 into homes where there IS
illness or other emergency and actual
w do the hol1sework and assist In
the care Of the patient and the chill
dren.
The educational project Is designed
to teach better housekeeping metnoos
and to encourage those families on
relief who need help to work toward
q better home life. The teaching Is
carried on by means Of discussions
and demonstrations, either In the In
dividual homes or in group meetings.
While the name visiting house.
keepes" is& often used 10 designate