RED CROSS RELIEF

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 174, 8 July 1932, Page 5

RED CROSS RELIEF

HASTINGS COMMITTEE MEETS PROMOTING SELF-HELP. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Hastings Red Cross Relief Committee was held in the Mayor’s room last evening, and was presided over by Mr A. F. Redgrave. Seventeen other members were present. Before going on to a discussion of business, Mr Redgrave asked the members to stand in silence as an expression of sympathy with Nurse Oliphant (Maori District Nurse) in the loss of her son. Mrs H. A. Thompson, representing the Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union, Miss Helen Ford, representing the Hastings Free Kindergarten, and Mr T. Pickett, vere welcomed as new members of the committee. Reporting on behalf of the investig'i tion committee, Mrs Lovell-Smith said that a great deal of useful and very necessary work was still being done in the way of investigating claims for assistance. Mr. Redgrave said that there was to some extent among the public a feeling that the Relief Committee were giving assistance where it was not de. served. Such criticism was quite unfounded, he added, but the committee must take the greatest care that nothing should be lone to make such opinions justified. Every case had to be treated on its merits, and fully examined. The public had placed the committee in a position of trust. There were many cases of distress in which the people were too proud or too in dependent to apply for assistance, he continued, and it was the committee’s duty to try to obtain information about such people and to help them. If that were not done, then the committee would not bo doing its duty properly. Speaking with reference to the committee’s recently adopted policy of requiring those who are able to do so to pay part of the cost of boots issued by way of relief, the secretary (Mr Tripe) said that the scheme had met with the greatest possible success, and the principle of encouraging self-help in this way had been most readily accepted by those applying for assistance. Orders to the value of 5s had been issued to a large number of applicants for boots, and in a few cases the whole cost had been borne by the committee when it had been definitely ascertained that the applicant was quite unable to pay anything at all. In accordance with the principle involved in the scheme of issuing boots, 'he meeting decided to apply the same iractice to the issue of trousers, and in 'uture the committee will give to ap■licants for working trousers an order 'o the value of ss, the applicant being required to pay the balance above that 'mount. In cases of absolute destitu. ion, however, the issue will be free. The question of giving assistance to Maoris was mentioned by the chairman, :nd after a thorough discussion it. was ■esolved that the committee should dhere to the present practice of issung relief only through the Maori Disrict Nurse.