HELPING UNEMPLOYED

Northern Advocate, 4 May 1932, Page 2

HELPING UNEMPLOYED

NEW SCHEME INITIATED,

MEETING AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE.

(Per Press Association. —Copyright.) WELLINGTON, This Day.

By invitation of the GovernorGeneral and Lady Bledisloe, an informal meeting was held at Government House to hear details of a scheme for rendering voluntary assistance to the households of unemployed, which was devised by Miss M. Richmond,' of Wellington, well known as the founder of free kindergartens in New Zealand. The central idea of the scheme is for every nouprofoasional woman in comfortable circumstances to make friends on equal terms with a family not in comfortable circumstances for the mutual happiness and welt'arq of both parties.

The meeting, which included representatives of local societies already engaged in relief work and the heads of religious denominations, adopted unanimously a resolution generally favouring the scheme. Miss Richmond suggested that those present band themselves together in groups of five. The main object is friendship, not charity. The whole system is voluntary. Her Excellency was in the chair at the opening of the meeting,, and was supported by Lord Bledisloe, who ■subsequently acted as chairman. Mrs Harold Johnston is assisting Miss Richmond to put the scheme in operation. The rules of fellowship, said Mrs Johnson, are- few. “Ask for no money and give no money', absolute secrecy as to details of the house visited and no polities, which is the reason we have asked no wives of members of Parliament to join.”

His Excellency' said there was an idea in some quarters that Her Excellency' and himself were, to -be patrons of the fellowship. That was not so, but they' were prepared to take their part in the work, and if two families were allotted to them they would both do their best to give them the help and comfort of fellowship.’