CORRESPONDENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 65, 17 March 1934, Page 8

CORRESPONDENCE

THE CITY MISSION

(To the Editor.) \, ■ Sir,—l am afraid that I have by now attained a notoriety which is not altogether enviable. In* 1919 I received my discharge from the N.Z.E.F. imbued with the spirit of fellowship and camaraderie which .was one of the results of the war.. Filled with.: this spirit and feeling, that what of life was left' must' ac devoted to the doing of' all one could to;meet the.■ necessities of others in less fortunate circumstances, I accepted work at. the then St.. Peter's Mission, now the Wellington City Mission... The object of the mission is to meet the pressing needs of men ,and women, 'old. and yoiing, and before long the work of the mission in that direction became extensive. Three years ago the same spirit of wishing to meet the needs of others caused me to tpen the Men's Shelter with a tremendous capital debt with the. additional heavy daily expenses incurred in providing beds and meals. From the very first day we opened the Men's Shelter w*e have had a tremendous trouble to keep it open, not because the demands grow less, but because of the difficulty of raising sufficient funds. . During the past three yeai-6 the work of relieving married families 'has grown enormously, and has attained dimensions beyond our power to meet. -I am tempted to regret that I set out on such a difficult road. When one is continually begging one does not exactly achieve • a tremendous popularity. I hear all sorts of accounts of a'better outlook and turning the corner, but, cheerful though I usually am, I cannot see a' ray o£ light or anything beyond the long straight road of daily heed. Many married men ' are now on sustenance of £1 per week, and many single men on, 7s -6d '. ■a. week. Seasonal occupations have come to an end with the result that more, men! are daily drifting into the city. . ~ , The result of all this is that I am faced daily with a demand for beds; meals, food, and clothing which I am quite; unable to meet, and my own .financial position is so serious that I am nervous as to how J. shall face theY" demands of ' the winter . .: ■'■'■■ ...'■. , '■ I am sure that our country is full'of men and women of good- will, and I -am equally sure that if men and women of good will know of my; desperate situation they will do what they can to come to my aid. I need at least £1000 to meet my present liabilities, arid if I ani to go on relieving the worst cases of distress I need at least £500 to see me through the next three months. As* an old soldier I do believe in doing all I can to .help myself, and to (this end I recently ran a week's entertainment-<in the .Town Hall from which I hoped to gather funds .to ease my situation, but I regret to saythat I shall probably gather nothing, and this in face of the fact that expenses were kept down to the ■ minimum; '.; ;';'. From past experience I think you-^have many readers who" are only, too glad to assist me, and I shall be grateful more than I can say for any donations received as a result of this^ letter. I will acknowledge such donations through your paper, but should be glad to know whether the donors wish to remain anonymous or riot. I hate these constant appeals, but being what I am I must do what I can to make.the road of life easier for those who through no faults of their own 'are stranded. Thanking you in anticipation of your insertion of, this letter .—I; am, c. C '' rT.FIELDEN-TAYLOR"