Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1938-11-25
Woman, SO, Aided in Fight
To Keep Family Together
Lack Of Food, Sickness and Despair Beaten
By Timely Aid of Chest AGENCY

She was white haired. Her thin
coat had no lining. But she was
game.
II know a family" she said, that
is about to be evicted. I thought
you might be able to help them"
That's what a worker at the Fam
lily Service Association remembers
about Mrs. k. She recalls the
old lady walking in day before
Christmas last year to tell about
family about to be thrown out OF its
home.
It turned out, Of course, that it
was Mrs. ks own family. Mrs.
ks husband had died two years
before and that was the end Of his
pension, which, with the daughters
pay for dancing, had kept the family
going.
Three Charges to Care For.
Mrs. k was So years old, too
old to do much toward supporting
herself and her three charges and
too young for a Federal old-age
pension. The daughter had to stop
dancing just about that time. A
serious operation and internal in
juries made it impossible to work
at the only thing she knew how to
do. Once she tried to 60 back to her
work. But in week she was fiat on
her back again.
Then there was the daughters g.
year-old boy. Anemia and no money
for glasses made it so difficult for
the youngster to keep up in school
that he was far behind in his classes
His father had deserted years before.
Mrs. k had a son, Is years
old. But he never had been able
to work. He had the disease that
spares neither royalty nor the needy
-hemophilia. The slightest cut in
CURED on the job might mean bleed
ing to death.
Thatwas Mrs. ks problem when
she visited the Family Service Asso-
citation. She had been seamstress,
but her eyes were failing her and
she couldn't keep up with her
younger competitors.
Sickness and Despair.
There was no money, no food, the
possibility of no roof over their
heads. There was sickness and
despair.
That, Of course, was almost year
ago. But relief was no answer. Had
Mrs. ks family gone on the relief
rolls the little money they received
would have been just enough to keep
them going. The family needed.
first, to be built back to physical
strength. Then a job had to be
found for the youth, one which
would involve no danger of cuts.
The daughter needed to learn an
other trade, light work. assuredly,
but something other than the dane
ing which she had to forsake for
ever. Glasses for the youngster and
for Mrs. k would complete the
picture.
1t took almost year to do it, but
1t has ben done. Mrs. k has a
lining in her coat now, her son has
the promise of job, her daughter is
learning stenography and her little
| grandson is all that normal child
should be.
Low Funds Hamper Work.
That family and 2,767 like it were
given assistance by the Family Serv-
ice Association during the year. In
the same period, however, 1 1899 fam
lilies which investigation showed
needed relief and which, with the
agencys help could have used it con-
structively, were turned away be-
cause the agency had no funds to
help them-the Community Chest
had failed to make its goal and the
needy of Washington had suffered.
-Four other family case work agen-
cies of the Community Chest who do
the same preventive, necessary work
Of the Family Service Association
had the same stories to tell. They
are the Catholic Charities. Salvation
Army, Jewish Social Service Agency
and the American Legion. The five
agencies turned away a total of
4,153 families in desperate need dur
ing the year. They took care of
6,644.
Families were rejected because the
people of Washington failed to push
the Community Chest campaign
over the top last year. Instead Of
the $453 ,82858 the five agencies had
asked for to meet the minimum de-