Evening star., 1943-02-17
USO Counselor
Solves Problems
Ot Newcomers
Mrs. BoeU Lends
sympathetic Ear
To Many Qneries
Bp Frances Lfde.

II you're a young girl and have
Just come to Washington to work
undoubtedly your biggest problem is
to find place to live where you
are happily situated.
But yOur headaches don't end
there. You're amazed at the way
your salary seems to melt, with
nothing left over for bit of fun.
You're eXaSperated at the difficult
ties Of getting to and from work.
You're veXed by the. thousand ane
one little annoyanceS encountered in
living in an overcroWded wartime
Capital. And TO be perfectly frank,
YOU are pretty lonely.
Your troubles aren't dramatic.
They are just the everyday prob
lens of the normal girl.
1t is Just these everyday" prob
lens, however, which are the par
ticUlar concern of Mrs. Eloise Keefer
Boell of the Young Women's Chris
tian Association.
A USO counselor attached to the
staff of the Washington YWCA, Mrs.
BCell has an Office on the fourth
floor of the YWCA at Seventeenth
end K streets NV, where she is
available for conferences every day
and some evenings.
Herself a Newcomer.
Newcomers to Washington find her
q sympathetic confldante for she,
herself, was a newcomer last fall.
She knows from first hand the
problems involved in such matters
as having furniture delivered or a
telephone installed. And she admits
there have been times when she was
ready to burst into tears from sheer
exhaustion at the inability to get
things done
Mrs. Boell has found, however,
that many irritations are dissolved
simply by the process of talking
them over. A few days ago she
met with a group of business girls
who were invited to discuss the
irritation of their lives here and
what to do about them. Even when
nothing could be done, the girls felt
better for bringing their pet peeves'
out into the open.
Group counseling, she explained,
will be a part of her program and
it will not be confined to business
girls. She expects to give special
attention to members of the YWCA
Girl Reserve Clubs composed of
youngsters still in school These
girls also are being affected by the
war, Mrs. Boell pointed out, often
because their mothers are working
In one club alone, she said, 10 of
the IL members have mothers hold
ing down full-time war jobs.
Other Girl Reserve members are
finishing up their high school courses
and looking around for jobs them
selves. They will need little ad-
vice along the lines Of job counsel
ing.
Where young business girls are
concerned, questions about housing
lead all the rest, Mrs. Boell said.
Her Office utilizes the services of all
the housing agencies in Washington
to help girls find pleasant homes.
And then we follow them through"
Mrs. Boell said, for it is so impor-
tant for the girls to be happily stu
ated."
Many Queries on Churches.
Many of the newcomers want to
know where to find inexpensive rec
reation, and others are interested in
signing up for educational courses.
A great many queries come from
girls who ask about the location and
activities Of various churches.
The new personal counselor will
have the assistance of a volunteer
committee headed by Mrs. John F.
Thomas, who also is ch Trman of the
volunteer civilian interviews at the
recruiting center for the WAACS.
Both Mrs Boell and Mrs. Thomas
have had extensive experience in
counseling.
Mrs. Boell came here from Madi-
son, Wis, where she was counselor
in junior business college She
also spent a year in Madison as
business girls secretary for the
YWCA. Prior counseing experience
included work with the Girl Scouts
and Girl Reserves.
Mrs. Thomas, who is from New
York, was volunteer chairman Of
the group work department at the
New York YWCA and did a great
deal of counseIing along the lines
of helping people get jobs. Alto
gether she has had about 10 years
experience in counsehng on volun-
teer paSiS.