HUMAN DERELICTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20986, 24 September 1931, Page 11

HUMAN DERELICTS.

WORK OF REHABILITATION. , » DOWN AND OUT MISSION. CHEER BROUGHT TO HOPELESS. A somb'-e phase of city life unsuspected by the Aucklander whose footsteps lie in pleasant ways is to be seen at the Down and Out Mission conducted by Mr. and Mrs. F. Williams in the old Central Mission Hall in Albert Street. Sombre is the manifestation and hopeless the mien of the men who assemble there, but into the gloom is brought the vital light of compassion that for an hour or two on three nights a week dispels the shadows of misery. Many of those who find in the mission an oasis of hope when all seems hopeless are men who, through circumstances or folly, have reached the bedrock of human fortune, men who have sunk in the social scale until even the thought of rising again has been crushed from their minds or dismissed as too fantastic to be longer entertained. Rehabilitation as Citizens. To such as these the mission extends a helping hand, the mainspring of its energy being, in the words of the - missioned the text and motto placed above the door — ' " Get Right With God." Although ' material help, such as food and clothing, is provided as funds allow, the main objective is to arouse in the minds of these ' unfortunates the desire to lift themselves > again on to the road of responsible citizenship. I The task in many cases is a formidable I one, since of the tide of derelicts which ; ebbs and flows at the door of the mission J i many are self-confessed as hopeless. But, : I | such is the faith and perseverance dis- ; I played that a remarkable record has been i • achieved of men saved from themselves ; i ! and rehabilitated in society. I A few wooden chairs and several kero- I , I sene cases provide the seating accoinmoda- j ' tion. A piano sounds the airs of well- J ( known hymns, while a lusty Samoan with j a charming smile stamps one foot to the music and leads the singing. He revels i 1 in the rhythm of it, and at his cheerful 1 behest the choruses are repeated again and again. Somehow it is all very jolly and slowly the ice of reserve melts away. Testimonies Freely Given. ) "I came from Samoa with no hat and p no boots," says this merry Islander, when 3 the hymn is finished. " I could not > speak English and I could not find work. 1 was converted, and in that is my suc--5 cess. My workmates ask me why lam always happy. I tell them it is because I have something in my heart." 5 One by one the men rise from their seats and give their testimony. Stories of wrong-doing are told with an open--1 ness that knows no shame because good r has triumphed over ill, good inculcated at J this very mission where once they came • as outcasts. ' Others are urged to follow 5 the same path and thus to find the same 3 peace of mind and an open door where • once the whole world seemed shut against r them. And as they listen to the fervid urging faces grow intent and thoughtful. j The appeal comes from like to like and f strikes responsive chords. j Former Preacher's Experience. A former street preacher stands up and tells of a lapse from rectitude, of several years spent in degradation, and of a final return to moral stability. An ex-sailor rises, and, after passing comment upon the vagaries of weather in the Great Lakes of North America, gets down to I. business and tells of the change which came over his life while acting as watchman of a ship. The missioner then addresses the gathering. " Throw the past aside," he says. " Realise now that Divine help is yours for the asking. Whatever your life has been you can change it all this very s moment. The world is passing through n troublous times, and reports of strife and misery are heard on every side. As it e is with the individual, it is with the i" world —the only soluton lies in Divine aid. If the world is to be saved from further 3 ills it must come through Divine power 5 working through men as individuals." ■ An appeal is made for men to abandon ( their selfish aims and take up the burden of fashioning a better world. The indi- \ vidual life must be ordered afresh, they ; are told, and all who are willing to make | the attempt are asked to raise their hands. . Refreshments and Beds. Hesitatingly a number of hands are 1 lifted, a blessing is offered and the meeti ing ends. Sandwiches and tea are disi tributed and tickete for beds are given out. . " Meetings are held on Wednesday, I Saturday and Sunday evenings." said Mr. Williams. "It costs about £l6O a year to run the mission and it is a strenuous . task to raise the money. We find employment for as many men as we can place, and we also distribute clothing | whenever we can. The mission would be very thankful for gifts of money and clothing, which could be brought to the 1 hall on meeting nights or left at McKeowh's bakery shop in Victoria Street. 1 In the working of the mission we receive help from the students of the Bible Training Institute and the Baptist College. The Baptist Bible classes in Auckland also take it in turns to provide suppers for the men."