Evening star., 1936-05-30
What Are They
Doing Without
Relief?
Case Histories of Families
Dropped From the Rolls
Presented by Star.

Following decision of Congress to
appropriate only $3.50, 900 in place
of the s6o8,coo for which the Com
missioners had asked, the District
relief autorities announced that
all "employable" persons would be
dropped from the local relief rolls
April /. This was done.
Since then there has been no
great pubic outcry for further re-
lief. There have been no riots, no
disorder, no mass demonstrations.
Evictions have been few.
Was the relief demand over
stated by the relief authorities?
Is the public being lulled into a
false sense of security that all is
well?
Some 400 families have been
dropped from the local relief rolls.
A few have been given w. P. A.
employment. What are the others
doing? What are their circum-
stances? How will they get along?
At the request of the American
Association of Social Workers, the
Public Assistance Division of the
Board of Public Welfare and the
Family Service Association.
Community Chest agency, have
followed up" 40 cases of persons
dropped from the relief rolls.
The names of these cases have
not been available to The Star,
nor has The Star made its own in
vestigation of the facts. At the
request Of the agencies The Star
will present daily some of the typi-
cal cases as reported by the case
workers.
CASE NO, 7.
A family composed of FIVE; father,
mother and three boys. years Z
years months and / year
8 months old. The case was first
opened July 81, 1898. when there was
but one child. Service was given and
.he case closed.
The case was reopened two months
ater, but was closed when father OBJ
aimed employment on Christmas day,
1884. In February, 1896, the family
was again in trouble and the case
was reopened, only to be closed out
finally April /.
Their budget amounted to Sl605 a
week, of which s682 went for rent
and 1923 for food. The man was
classified as an employable; the wom-
an as unemployable because of the
dependence of the small children
upon her.
The father has been certified for
work on a w. P. A. project, but has
not yet been assigned. His income Is
very uncertain. He is doing laboring
work for contractor, but is employed
, maximum of five days a week: less
when weather is bad or work runs out.
His per diem earnings amount to SO
and he is able to average about S12
A week. The family has taken in a
roomer at $40 month.
The family does not have adequate
food. The father pays his rent of
$3.50 month regularly. He has not
been able to secure credit at neigh
oorhood stores. For the three weeks
prior to the report the three children
had been confined to bed because of
illness. They have been treated at
Childrens Hospital Clinic. with fol-
low-up attention by the Instructive
Visiting Nurse Society. The parents
attribute the illness of their children
10 inadequate necessities.
The parents, it was reported, feel
definitely depressed and upset" They
lear the insecurity due to uncertain
The family is listed as
of rather high socio-economic type.
The husband was accustomed to a
good living, the wife is a high school
graduate. The children do not have
proper food or medicine: furniture
payments have not been kept up and
\ collector is threatening to take the
furniture back. Electricity will be cut
of unless overdue bills are paid.