LESS DISTRESS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 114, 15 May 1936, Page 9

LESS DISTRESS.

WORK AMONG POOR. " BRAVELY CONFIDENT." SOCIAL WORKERS RELIEVED. Confident that soeial conditions among the poor of Auckland will be greatly improved in the future, social workers in the city are starting their winter battle of relief witlr optimism. They are convinced that there will be far less distress and hardship this winter than has been the case for many winters past. "There is no doubt that in the past few months things have been easier for poor people," said the l\ev. Jasper Calder this morning. "There are, of course, some who have not caught up with things as others have, and we still have to help many old age pensioners and people 011 sustenance. There are, too, quite a number of men who have drifted into town when their seasonal jobs have been completed, but that happens every year." There was, generally speaking, a marked improvement all round, said Mr. Calder, and poor people were showing a feeling of confidence he had never known before. "They are bravely confident," he said. Last winter many social workers found that they were unable to cope with the demands made upon them. There was a desperate shortage of clothes, and many a family was scantily clad during the winter months. It is expected, however, that the coming winter will be definitely easier to handle from the point o'f view of the social worker than for years. One factor that is expected to contribute greatly to the easing of distress among the poor is the increased rates "of pay for relief workers which come into operation on July 1. "The average man would rather stand on his own feet than' seek relief or help of any description," said another social worker. "111 spite of the fact that they are poor, they are still proud, and they try to avoid asking for assistance if possible. Now that the crippled children's fund has closed—it had a big effect on the contributions to social organisations —we hope that when we make our winter appeal the rehouse by the public will be generous enough to carry us through."

.Tack Hamilton Wood, aged 19, a tinsmith's labourer, «:io lives at 11, King Street, Newmarket, received painful burns yesterday when lie was splashed by molten solder. He was admitted to the Auckland Hospital, but his condition is not serious.