Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1957-11-07
We Are Disturbed

We Are Disturbed
The Social Service League is
Montgomery County's private
family and children's agency,
supported by the United Givers
Fund. Our Board of Directors,
all outstanding and representa-
tive local citizens, has always
been concerned with the social
welfare problems of our COM
munity. For over fifty years,
we have continued to be alert to
needs that arise and to seek
ways of making Montgomery
County a better place for fami-
lies to raise their children.
We are disturbed by some of
the sentiments expressed in the
editorial "How Unemployable'
in your issue of October Oath.
We have worked long and hard
with the Family and Child Wei
fare Section of the Montgomery
County Community Chest and
Council in its study of the prob
lens and needs of families
whose wage-earner is temporar
lily out of work but not eligible
to receive Unemployment Com
pensation. For the most part,
these are persons who are out
of work because their jobs have
come to a halt due to adverse
weather conditions, such as
agricultural workers, landscape
men, and most of the building
trades.
Our concern is for the wei
fare of these families, especially
their children, who must go
hungry or cold when the in
come is cut off at these periods,
generally in the winter. Most
of them, earning less than $25OO
a year, cannot put something
aside for the "rainy day." nor
are they qualified to take bet
ter-paying jobs due to their
limited education or training. In
1856, our agency gave help to
fifty-eight such families where
our caseworkers recognized
need after studying the situa-
ton. This in a County which is
considered among the wealth
lest in the country!
The Social Service League
strongly believes in the concept
of public support to meet basic
maintenance needs for individ-
uals unable to help themselves.
The community has accepted re-
sponsibility for feeding and
clothing the child whose father
is dead, i'll, or deserted. Why
then, must we deprive the child
whose father is out of work
through no fault of his own,
who honestly wants to work
but cannot find it? Such chill
dren suffer in other ways, too,
when they have to stay home
from school because they have
no, shoes or lunch, or when they
become i'll because of malnutri-
ton or a home without heat.
How much more costly to
everyone are the long-term re-
suits of the denial of a small
amount of aid for a few weeks
to these families and the perpet-
uation in their children of low
earning capacity caused by loss
of education? Must we force
their fathers to desert or feign
illness in order that the chill
dren may be fed? What does
this do to the morale of the
family as a whole?
The State Department of Wei
fare has a program of aid to
such families, with very rigid
controls and adequate legal pro-,
tections against abuse. We be-
lieve such a program should be
made available to Montgomery
County. This would then release
the limited funds of the Social
Service League to be used in its
primary work of family coun-
selling to prevent such situa.
tons of need as now exist and
to help these families to become
more able to help themselves.
If employment opportunities
for these people exist, as you
say, it would be well to list
such job opportunities with the
Maryland State Employment
Service, to which our staff al.
ways refers the person seeking
employment.
II you should be interested in
further information about our
program, and the services that
we give, our Executive Director
and staff are available to an.
swer inquiries.
Edward l.. Stock .Ir