UNEMPLOYED'S SHELTER

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 630, 7 September 1933, Page 2

UNEMPLOYED'S SHELTER

SUCCESSFUL PLXN OLD BRICK FARMHOUSE IS HOME FOR JOBLESS. ONCE DESERTED BUILDING. A little more than a year ago a plan for extending help to homeless men came to the though't of a resident of one of the city suburbs, hut, unlike many other well-meaning plans, this one was to eome to fruition, for it was accompanied hy a determination to find a way for its unfoldment. And so this month marks the first anniversary of a home for unemployed where 260 men have found, not •only food and lodging, but an opportunity to repay their benefactor through useful work that contrihutes to the wellbeing of the whole group. The Shelter for Unemployed, about a mile off the West Chester Pike at Newtown Square, was a deserted brick farm house in the spring of 193-2, with broken windows, and sagging, unpainted doors. To-day it hums with activity, fresh, paint and shining win- " dows speak of g^ood hou^ekeeping, and the n^atly tiiimmed ^ard and flowerheds tell of interested giarden•ers. A radio musical programme floats out from thd opened windows,, mingling with appetising odour of baking bread. Quiet talk and laughter comes from the garden, where fresh vegetables are being gathered for supper. The Food Gardens Association of Philadelphia is sponsoring the shelter, hut it was the president of the Association, Mrs. Oswald Chew, of Randor, who conceived the plan and put it into operation. The h'ouse and grounds are loaned hy a trust company and Dr. Charles E. Gordon, of this city, directs the undertakings. All work on the shelter is done by its guests ,and this includes not only .the upkeep, hut in the beginning meant a general overhauling and renovating, even to the installation of electrie wiring. Although the Association is the financial backer of th'e shelter, .it is ahout 60 per cent. selfsupporting, according to Dr. Gordon, and is gradually better ing that figure. No wages are paid the men who live here, but each man is expected to give his servic'es towards the home in return for his board and lodging. There are meals to cook a.nd all the general tasks about a farm, including the cultivation of a vegetable garden and feeding and caring for the cow and, pigs. In addition to the chores around the shelter's grounds, some-' times the men go out to work for neighbouring farmers in return for money or produce which the shelter uses. In this way the shelter is enabled to can and preserve fruit and vegetables for winter use. "We make no discr.iming.tion among ther they are from this State of California or Texas we welcome them. But if each county established such a self-sufficient plan, there would he much less discontent. "About one point we are emphatic, we are not giving charity, but merely helping the men to provide food and sbelter for themselves in a way th'at is benefieial to them and the community."