Council committee’s welfare plans

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32848, 23 February 1972, Page 19

Council committee’s welfare plans

Unmarried mothers and young persons who had left home were two of the most urgent problems the Christchurch City Council welfare committee would have to cope with, the committee’s chairman (Cr N. Sutherland) said in a prepared statement yesterday.

“The extent of council participation in welfare work is a complex one when one considers that it may have to cover all areas of welfare from the embryo stage of life to old age—welfare problems such as unmarried mothers, child delinquency. venereal) disease, drug addiction/ promiscuity, alcoholics and care of the aged,” said Mrs Sutherland.

The committee would try to plan co-ordinated welfare activities in Christchurch once the survey on needs and organisations coping with those needs was complete. "Until the survey is completed we don’t know how many organisations in this city are involved in welfare work or the extent of their work. Until all this information has been correlated it will be impossible to know to what extent the council will be committed,” she said. “After we have gathered the information, we will see where overlapping occurs and where there are gaps showing needs that are not being met. We already know of some of these needs and have made considerable progress in meeting them. Soon I shall invite representatives of all social service organisations to meet my committee to find out to what extent they feel the council could assist them to meet further needs,” said Mrs Sutherland.) Special case

“As an example of the needs of the community, my committee will consider the special case of the unmarried mother who wishes to keep her child. My own thoughts are that the council can meet this case in three ways: "(a) Provide a house where a group of these mothers with their babies may live together using another house nearby which can be turned into a creche, thus enabling the mother to go to work and maintain herself and child. If the house was capable of accommodating six, the other five would pay the sixth person to run ihe creche under the guidance of the Welfare Department. “(b) In conjunction with this, or separately, a further house would be made available for the same use and the first floor of the creche building in Cathedral Square altered to include day-care amenities.

“(c) Find a larger house where unmarried pregnant girls (and/or mothers with

babies, according to need) would find accommodation, medical advice, companionship, counselling and education —a hostel. “In these ways the council would be getting on with meeting the needs of one group while working on the results of the survey,” she said.

) “The welfare committee has met twice and, as its > chairman, I have attended I many meetings of interested persons and organisations. During this time action has { been taken to assist the i Fergusson Clinic in its plan to rehabilitate discharged patients into community life; to provide accommodation i for a Roman Catholic organi-: sation to rehabilitate drug addicts; and to implement the scheme to house unmarried mothers in suitable i council housing—subject to {the approval of my committee at the next meeting. Youth contact “The question of contacts; with the youth of this city is i of the utmost urgency. The difficulty here, I feel, is the communication gap between those with executive power and those without, or put another way, the gap of misunderstanding and intolerance between those in authority and those in rebellion against authority. “There is no quick method of reforming, rehabilitating ior adjusting individuals or groups in any welfare plan, as has been proven by the major community schemes in large overseas cities,” said Mrs Sutherland. “I think that once the above survey has been completed, and all available facts considered, the welfare committee’s work may change considerably from that existing at present to a greater degree of participation and hard work for the members of the committee and for interested and sympathetic citizens.

“It is the earnest intention of my committee to ensure that all citizens in need are assisted, without fear or favour, first looking for the individuals, groups or areas in greatest need. The area that immediately comes to mind, of course, is that of young people who have left their homes.

“It is obvious that prevention of delinquency, prevention of unwanted pregnancy and venereal disease, and prevention of drug addiction is a priority. It is just as obvious that, despite the tremendous work of church and welfare organisations, these problems are still with us.

“The number of children born out of wedlock increases

year by year; so does venereal disease; and child delinquency; and drug addiction. As a divided community we have failed to halt this trend; our combined efforts will make some headway,” she said.

“At present, we cannot allow individuals, groups or organisations to force us into premature action. We have accomplished a fair amount in our short time in office and a hasty or impulsive decision may put our whole plan at risk. “Two dangers we are aware of in this work are working in separate, divided groups, and basing our assistance on a punitive point of view. Our care is not an ‘act of charity.’ Right or wrong has nothing to do with it. It is the ‘need’ we will keep in mind.

“Prevention and care now will cost immeasurably less than repair, detention and treatment later,” said Mrs Sutherland.