GOVERNMENT AID

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 102, 24 January 1919, Page 8

GOVERNMENT AID

TO EPIDEMIC SUFFERERS

CHARITABLE AID COMMITTEE'S REPORT

An important report bearing on aid. to sufferers by tho recent epidemic was presented to the Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Hoard \ys tho Charitable Aid Committee at yesterday's meeting of the board. Tho report was as follows: —

"1. That, owing to the great increase of the work of tho charitable aid branch, it has been found necessary to provide temporary clerical assistance to the Charitable Aid Superintendent.

"2. That, with regard to relief to sufferers by the recent epidemic, a circular has ,beeu received from the Hon. tho Minister of Public Health notifying that the care of orphans will be undertaken by the Education Department, and asking that, in tho meantime, hospital boards will undertake the administration of assistance .to'necessitous widows and widowers left with children, dealing, with them sympathetically and liberally on the lines of an allowance to widows of 10s. 6d. per week for each boy under .the age of sixteen and each girl under the age of eighteen, provided they are not in employment; and to widowers left with-children an allowance not exceeding 255. per week to enable them to provide female assistance in their homes. The Minister further undertakes that the Department will refund to hospital boards all advances made in accordance herewith. This practically means that the Public "Health. Department will refund to hospital boards the cost of relief, up to 10s. 6d. per week, each lot- children, and 2os. per week' feach for widowers.

3. I'he serious call on' the board tor assistance commenced on December 10, from .which date to the end of the month—threo weeks—the families of dl married couples and 22 widows were assisted, lyighty-two parents and one hundred and sixty-two children were fiff P ro ,^ ed for in their homes, while nttccn children were piuctti in orphanages at the request ot the former. The relief thus altorded took tho form of payment of rent or maintenance to the extent of £85, and food to tho value of £90, while grants of beddinc and clothing were made in a number ot eases, the aggregate value befog

"Ihe problem of dealing with children affected by the epidemic is being < tound to present less difficulty than m the, inevitable mental disturbance caused by such a sudden and universal calamity, was generally anticipated. Ihe actual number of orphans tor whom provision has to bo made apart from' relatives appears to be quite small. Ihat this would bo so was indicated as soon as the statistics collected from the vigilance committees were tabulated, since these showed that in only 8 per cent, of the cases of parental bereavement had both parents been k ?i"ui' T J° hM y the figures then available did not exhaust the actual number of cases, but, as it was certain that only a proportion, of orphans would be of other relatives ready iT? ch , ar S e °f them, it appeared probable that the number to be taken charge of otherwise would bo sr \lt "U'lio task of providing for children having lost one parent ls much simplified by the fact that in the great majority ot cases the surviving parent is .tho mother. The figures provided by the vigilance committees indicated that these cases represented 75 per cent, ot-the total and experience tends to confirm this view.

Hence the great majority of the children will- be provided tor in tho best possible way by assistance beinc afforded to their mothers on tho linos suggested in the circular of the Minister already referred to. The allowance- mentioned will, of course, require to bo supplemented considerably by tho board in a great many cases, notably where the family is under the average of three disclosed by the statistics, as is the case ma great many instances, and this is done. While, as has been said, the general problem of the children is proving to be comparatively simple the task of dealing with the individual cases is by no means so, since it is found'tha-t these vary to such an extent as to render it impossible to • genera lise the, i circumstances sufficiently to lay down anything eveii remotely resembling a hard and fast method. The committee is therefore sparing no pains to understand and appreciate individual circumstances and characters; and to adapt its mode of assistance to these so as to secure the best possible conditions for those so distrcssinglv and suddenly immersed in misfortune." ■ Comparative tables of relief for November (unavoidably omitted from the last report) and for the month of December arc appended :'— Month of November. Total cases dealt with ... 59 46 Daily average number of persons receiving relief 214 ISO Number of rations granted R33 480 Cash, grants £45. £44 Maintenance of children... £22 £20 Month of December. '_ -' - •". - ; -WlB. 1917. Total cases dealt with ... 101 46 Daily average number, of persons receiving relief 3-16 149 Bat-ions graried 1114 451 Cash grants £12fi £41 Clii'B'rn's maintenance ... £39 £21