ROTARY APPEAL FOR AGED

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27639, 21 April 1955, Page 6

ROTARY APPEAL FOR AGED

ENDORSEMENT BY MRS ROSS GOVERNMENT SUPPORT PLEDGED Support for the Christchurch Rotary Clutfs £50,000 appeal for the welfare of the aged was expressed yesterday by the Minister of Social Welfare (Mrs G. X H. Ross) during a visit to Christchurch. The Government would be pnly too pleased to subsidise the money raised for building purposes, £ for £, she said. Mrs Ross said she was proud of what the present Government" had

done for the aged. About 700 more beds had been provided in various institutions throughout the country, chiefly in church homes. The Government had also made available £72,000 for the Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor at Auckland, and a similar amount for the Darby and Joan Hostel in Wellington.

“In Christchurch you have some wonderful institutions for the care of those who need it,” she said, referring in particular to the girls’ training centre at Burwood and to the Mount Magdela Home, where a new wing has been added for aged persons. “Nazareth House is one of the finest institutions I have seen. They are doing wonderful work there, caring for babies, school children and aged persons.” The care of aged persons had become a serious concern only in the last 20 years or less, Mrs Ross saia. The causes were the shortage of domestic help in homes, and the reduction in the size of new houses. Young couyles, especially those with children, could not be expected to look after aged parents in their own homes without help.

“Young women nowadays just do not want to work in other people’s homes; they do not like it,” said Mrs Ross. “Furthermore, adolescent girls can now get £8 and £lO a week working in factories and offices. How many married couples can afford to compete with these wages in seeking domestic help?” The second reason why young persons, even if they wished, could not look after ageing parents was the size of the home, she said. The old days of big kitchens had disappeared. Houses now had a kitchenette or kitchen-cum-livingroom which would not be big enough for family and grandparents. X “For these reasons, the housing and care of the aged is a problem that must be tackled,” Mrs Ross said. “It is most pleasing to see Christchurch, the city with perhaps the best amenities and homes for welfare purposes in New Zealand, tackling this problem wholteheartedly. “The best type of home for elderly folk is the village type—the one with the communal centre, with cottages built round it. The recent social survey made it clear that old folk wish to keep oiit of institutions. They prefer not to lose their independence. “I am certain that Christchurch will use the money raised to the best advantage. I wish the Rotary Club and the Aged People’s Welfare Council every success in their worthy cause,” Mrs Ross said.