offered transportation back to their legal residence. This the family

refused.

The Conference of St. Vincent de Paul had given temporary re- Low wages. lief in this case and had then referred the family to its Child Caring Department for social work. The social worker made several visits. In March the man was working, earning about $2.00 to $2.50 a day. In April the house was condemned by the Board of Health Family and the family moved to another place. . . .

In November, 1916, the family again applied to the St. Vincent de Paul Society because of destitution. . .

moved.

Case Comment: This case involves an economic problem of low Case comwages, complicated by illnesses of various members of the family. ment and • It is illustrative of the extreme difficulties encountered by a family

of this type locating in Detroit without resources. .. More generous standards of relief would have lessened the family difficulty.

Diagnosis: Economic difficulties of native worker in new environ- diagnosis. ment: illness of children: poor housing: inadequate relief.

141. The friendly visitor 1

Because dependency is a many-sided phenomenon, we have been obliged to develop various types of social work to attack the different phases of the problem. Prominent in the field of social work are organized charity societies, known by various names in different cities. One of the characteristic elements in the work of organized charity is friendly visiting. The best type of friendly visitor is a trained social worker who personally wins the confidence and loyalty of the dependent, and then, by constructive aid and advice, helps to induce a normal situation. Some concrete examples of the work of the friendly visitor may here be cited from the Twenty-first Annual Report of the Associated Charities of Boston:

Ten years ago one of our visitors made her first call upon the family whose story is here given. She found five untidy children, the father just recovering from a broken leg, and the ailing mother with a sickly, small baby, regarded as the bringer of the family's recent

1 From the Associated Charities of Boston, Twenty-first Annual Report. Boston, November, 1900; pp. 10-13.

Friendly

visiting an

element in

organized

charity

work.

A family which had

fallen on

evil days is

found by a friendly visitor

and taught the funda

mentals of a proper diet, and

the care of

money.

A drunkard is turned

into an industrious

and responsible citizen.

A third case.

bad luck. A leaky stove hardly warmed their two badly kept rooms, and was of no use at all for baking. So the family lived on baker's bread, bacon, and other unsuitable and comparatively expensive foods.

The gift of a new stove procured by the Conference made a pleasant opportunity for the visitor to show the mother how to cook better and cheaper food; she also taught her to cut and fit clothes for her family. . . . The health of all improved, and the family finances as well. The visitor showed how much cheaper it was to save money and buy a carpet for cash than to buy on the instalment plan, as the mother had wished; and this experiment led to the purchase of all the household goods for cash, and eventually to the purchase of the house itself. . . .

A case where a little investigation resulted immediately in benefits to the family is that of a woman who applied to one of our agents for help for herself, sick husband, and two children. The relief society which had helped before reported that the man was a hopeless drunkard for whom it was useless to do anything. Our agent found that the man had been a carpenter on a southern ranch, and wrote to his employers there. They needed his services, and sent money for his ticket back. It was rheumatism which in the climate of Boston kept him from working, and drove him to drink. Since returning south he has worked steadily on the ranch, comfortably supporting his family, who remain here.

Three years ago a man fell from a staging and was killed, leaving a wife and five small children. The visitor appealed to the man's former employer, who furnished fuel for the family for some time; the two youngest children were taken into the day nursery; a former employer of the mother also assisted with groceries; relatives were interested, who helped to the extent of their ability; and friends secured quite a sum by means of a benefit ball. This money the woman is using in fitting up and stocking a little store near a park, which promises to make her self-supporting. . . .

...

[Another case is that of a] couple with two young children. The man, formerly a 'longshoreman, had lung trouble, and was unable to do hard work. The visitor secured admission for the oldest child to the day nursery, and found the woman work, which she soon lost

aid ex

through inefficiency. Again the visitor secured work for the woman Constructive and light outdoor work for the man, who has greatly improved in tended a health. The next step was to induce the family to leave their wretched family quarters for a more homelike place, and this was accomplished. Back formerly dependent debts have been paid, a new stove is gradually being paid for, and they upon a sick are now receiving practically no help.

man.

which cannot be re

the

visitor

[Here is another case:] A man, unable to do hard work, earned A family a little; wife suffered from epilepsy and periods of insanity; several of the five children delicate, and two of them deformed. Through habilitated, but which the efforts of the friendly visitor, one child was admitted to the Children's Hospital, its legs were straightened, and the boy sent friendly home with its limbs in a plaster cast. . . . The child is now at home again, perfectly well and sound. In the mean time the mother's sister in an inland city was consulted, and gave the baby a good home with herself while the mother was in the hospital for the insane. Whatever the future may show as to the wisdom of keeping this partially refamily together, it will readily be seen that the visitor's efforts, with organizes.

the help of the charities, have resulted in restoring to perfectly normal and healthy condition one who would otherwise have been a cripple and burden on society.

142. An ideal almshouse 1

of relief.

As a general rule, persons who are only slightly or temporarily Two types dependent, and who do not need specialized care or treatment, are best treated in their homes. On the other hand, relief should generally be extended through institutions where the dependent is permanently or totally disabled, or where he is in need of special care and treatment. The oldest and least specialized of all institutions for the adult dependent is the almshouse, sometimes called the poorhouse. In the following selection Francis Bardwell, formerly Inspector of Almshouses in Massachusetts, tells what an inmate of The almsan ideal almshouse has a right to expect:

Those of us whose business it is to deal with the affairs and management of institutions usually approach the subject through the main hallways; I feel that we would get further and see clearer if we came

1 From the National Conference of Social Work, Proceedings. Forty-fourth Annual Session. Pittsburg, June 6-13, 1917; pp. 357-361.

house.

Taking the point of

view of the

inmate.

Things which the

inmate has a right to expect of the alms

house.

An ideal almshouse building.

Food and

medical attendance.

Kindly

attendance.

into the institution at the inmates' entrance and saw things from their point of observation.

[Suppose that I am a pauper and that the authorities see fit to care for me through the medium of the almshouse.] When I have made application and been accepted, I have a right to expect certain things pertinent to my comfort, welfare, and care. . . . First, I have a right to demand the common necessities shelter, personal cleanliness, food, clothing, and medical attendance; second, I have a right to ask for the following comforts - kindly attendance, quiet and decent quarters, reasonable freedom from objectionable fellow inmates, the opportunity of receiving visits from friends; third, I hope to receive some form of recreation, the pleasure of attending religious services at least monthly, employment suited to my age and physical condition, the right to protest, without detriment to myself, against any hardship I may feel that I am forced to bear. . .

First, then, I demand as my right, shelter. This means the almshouse building. . . . Briefly, we need a building, properly heated, allowing for separation of sexes, ample fire protection and fire escapes, well-equipped kitchen and laundry, well-arranged sleeping quarters, intelligently planned sanitary conveniences, an assembly room, or dining room large enough to use for an assembly room, rest rooms for the women and smoking rooms for the men, adequate hospital accommodations, etc. . .

...

Food. What shall the standard be? A sufficient amount of wellcooked, nutritious food, varied and suited to the condition of the consumers. Invalids and the sick should have the advantage of a dietary provided by the physician. .

As an almshouse inmate I am entitled to good medical attendance, and I look to the administration to furnish the same standard as they employ in their own families. . .

Kindly attendance.

Whatever else a warden may possess in executive ability, he must be honest and kindly. The matron must be a woman who has lost her temper for all time, a good manager, and, in a word, a mother to the inmate family. . . . The administration must be conducted for the proper care of the inmates. The institution exists for its inmates, not for one type, one group, but as

...

is best for all. Proper care should never be subordinate to mere

to recreation, religious serv

ices, etc.

I, as an inmate, want recreation, work, religious services, and the The right right to report abuses and not suffer for so reporting. I think it should be the duty of the superintendent, with the strong backing of the directors, to enlist the coöperation of various church societies and fraternal orders so that entertainment may be provided for the almshouse people, talks, concerts, simple treats, and in some cases moving pictures. I believe that every almshouse should have its Christmas observance, a tree, little remembrances and gifts, and above all the Christmas spirit that to many poor old people banishes for a time the feeling of complete dependence. Men and women should be provided with games, papers, magazines, etc. I know one almshouse that provides a car ride and annual picnic, and another where a lady of the community opens her home for a whole day and entertains the old ladies. Such events provide pleasant anticipation and hours of wonderful memories, and are a good investment in almshouse administration, as is anything that brings about the spirit of contentment.

143. State control of institutions for dependents 1

opment in

relief.

As has been suggested, charitable relief may be either institutional The twofold develor non-institutional. To confine our present attention to institutional relief, the past century has witnessed a twofold development in this institutional field. In the first place, there has been a high degree of specialization to meet the needs of various types of dependents. In the second place, there has been a tendency for all of the charitable institutions of the state to be placed under coördinated management. In the following selection Professor Henderson discusses some aspects of this development:

For the function of supervision and direction of the state institutions through an administrative body it has been found desirable to appoint boards of competent persons charged with this duty. The tendency to specialization in older and more populous states is shown in the creation of separate bodies for the supervision or control 1 From Charles Richmond Henderson, Introduction to the Study of the Dependent, Defective, and Delinquent Classes. D. C. Heath & Co. 1901; pp. 206–208.

In the con

trol of state

institutions,