Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-03-09


The FIRST step is q plan,
setting up regional counsellin
One would be in Southwest. o.
Northeast section and q fourth
In the Northwest area.
Supervision and initial. funds
would come from the Twelfth
Street, YMCA. which is the
colored branch Of the District
YMCA. Volunteer workers would
stan the centers. offering in
formation on Jobs and schools
and other practical counselling
A first meeting on the prob
lem Of juvenile delinquency
specifically its incidence among
Negrces-was held two days
ago by rs Negro leaders The
same group will meet again
next month to develop plans
further.
Seek YMCA Help
There were no professional
social workers among the
group. It was comprised Of q
cross section Of businessmen.
educators, ministers. doctors,
lawyers and Government on
Gals. Searching for an answer
to the delinquency problem, the
citizen leaders asked the YMCA
for help.
The YMCA, as 1t happened.
has been thinking about the
same problem and welcomed
this display Of citizen interest.
Laurence r. Hunt, executive
secretary Of the Twelfth Street
YMCA. therefore helped ar
range the meeting. In an in
terview yesterday. Mr.. Hunt
outlined the thinking behind
the move:
I'VE have thought for some
time about the role the YMCA
plays in the whole community.
Although we do not take any
stand on Indignation in general,
we have been pressing for in
tegration Of the white and col
ored YMCA's.
But there is 1 great reluc-
lance among some Of the di-
rectors Of the Central YMCA-
the white branch-to integrate.
They have read repeated news
stories about Negro crime and
yenereal disease rates and they
say frankly they don't want to
mix with Negroes. They say,
Why don't you people do some
thing about yourselves before
coming around asking to inte-
grate?'
:. I'VE feel the whole Negro
community Is unfairly stigma
tiled by newspaper emphasis
on crimes committed by a small
fraction Of the population. But
we also recognize that there
is a real problem. And we asked
ourselves: Why isn't our YMCA
doing more about the problem?
1T should be in the forefront.
s Problems Cited
* "At the Twelfth Street "
our attendance Is hampered by
an old building and our lack of
q swimming pool. And the boys
we get are mainly the good
boys. the normal ones, whom
we try to train as leaders. We
are not reaching the troubled
ones. who may in time go bad.
1T came to us that our most
useful function could be in the
field Of guidance. Not intensive
psychological counselling or
psychiatric case work, but plain
answers to plain questions that
trouble kids and their parents.
"For some time we have had
the part-time services of DR.
William B. West, retired How
ard University dean Of men.
Dean West has helped many
youngsters by friendly, expert
enced counselling about jobs,
school. personal problems. He
has found them work, en-
'couraged them to go to night
school when they couldn't at
tend during the day, settled
difficulties with parents, d.
rected uneducated men to
training courses which would
equip them to take better
paying Jobs, shown parents
some Of the simple things they
could do for their kids that they
weren't doing"
Director Proposed
Mr.. Hunt will propose to his
board Of directors at the
Twelfth Street YMCA that
they hire Dean West as a full
time director of counseling anc
set up the four regional cen
tiers. He has list Of recently
retired teachers and university
professors he hopes to persuade
to offer their services volun-
tarily as counselors.
He also will appeal to min.
listers Of. Negro churches t.
make contributions Of 500 each
to get the program started. L
the program proves successful
he hopes to enlist further sup.
port from other organizations.
i At 1lrst, as he sees 1t, thu
,centers would operate perhaps
,three hours night severa
nights q week. They would bC
.,little more than information
,lofnces. Later, IF we see thai
the idea is working" he woulC
expect the : centers to keeT
longer hours and offer broader
,,counseling services.
1--WE insisted" says Mr.. Hunt
..;"that what we want is no
highly trained specialists-al-
Though the social workers will
ino doubt give me a bad tim'