THE HOME FOR THE AGED AND NEEDY.

NZ Truth, Issue 57, 21 July 1906, Page 1

THE HOME FOR THE AGED AND NEEDY.

It-would appear as though, there is ample room, for reform m the matter of the treatment of our aged poor, and particularly m the mode of conducting the institution known as '■ '-'The Home for the Aged and' : Needy." That it is $ place where the y. aged and needy of both sexes are housed, is true enough, hut to call it ; a home, if what is, continually alleg-i '■-■ ed against, it is< even half true, is the' i, bitterest irony. The whole management, sqems to be 'based on the supposition* that all who obtain admission are practically criminals ; and this conclusion is arrived at after 1 close obfeervance of the mode at -treatment of the much-to-be pitied inmates. They are not treated as deserving poor, nor is the. system any other than what might ie expected m : a very severely conducted . feforma- • tory. A prison, -eicept under the vilest misntanagepi?B:iit, is conducted.upon infinitely more humanitarian lines k than is this Wellington "Home," if the stories of inmates and ex^i-nmates are to he believed ; and It would appear that the Bumble of Charles Dicjrens has left worthy descendants and that some of them have received appointments m New> Zealand. :'*: ■<-■.:■■- ..?■'■ ,'■/.. i' A > -•' ■-.:'.;V/rV.. As generalities are the : refuge of -the ill-informed, we will proceed to give instances of the mode of management obtaining m this last refuge of the world-worn poor. Take the case of the old . age pensioners, who, being utterly alone m the world and whose age and infirmities preclude their engagdog—or receiving any chance to en- : gage in— any sort of employment to ■ eke out their paltry pittance, are constrained to accept the shelter of this ; .particular institution. Some 40 of .'•'■• .these poor old drifting hulks on lifers ; ocean have been m the Home this ■;-■ • winter, and, m face of the fact that living m Wellington is atrociously and, unwarrantably dear, it is no disgrace to them that they have fallen back on a charitable institution. 'It they did not they could barely buy food ; .enough to sustain life, to say nothing \ -of a roof to cover them from thebit,ter winter blasts and a bed- to rest ■ their toil-worn old bones m. And what do we find ? Why, as soon as he enters the Home, a. pensioner must assign his claim; to the authorities .thereof and out of his pitiable 10s a week he js tardily— wickedly, inexcusably tardily, it being often, as late as ,the 7th. to the 10th of the month before it is" grudgingly doled out to its ( rightful owner— allowed 7s 7d per month. This is a crying scandal, for out of the few pence thus retained the poor old men want to buy tobacco— .the one solace of toothless old age— and food that they can eat and which their age and necessities demand. ;■• m * For the food is a .very, sore point ; and no wonder, for everything that Bumbledom can do to render the dis-. tressingly plain diet unpalatable and* an efficacious weapon against aged life, is done ; though far be it from '■ i us to say. that it is done with those . purposes. It is simply the Bumbledonian view that/ anything is gooa enough for paupers, that is acted upon here m modern Wellington ; and the wretched paupers suffer accordingly. .;., /The food is o"f the coarsest and com■\&.'.monest, to begin with, and m cases r Vof diseased, worn-out stomachs it is , simply not capable of assimilation, . even if it were served hot and comforting. But it is not ; . quite the reverse is the case, and that, it would really> seem, from what our American cousins call "pure cussedness." if not, how will the authorities of the Home-account for the fact that the • -. meat and vegetables and nice, cojn- -' lotting cold water (the only drink served out to poor, shivering wrecks bitter winter) prepared for the mid-day meal, are carefully plac- ' ed (on the plates) on the table at 12 o'clock sharp, and that the inmates are just as carefully prevented from attacking the food until a bell rings at 12.30 ? Naturally the food, rough IsumL coarse as it is, has by then lost its only virtue, its heat, and the shi- \ yering paupers sit down to a cold re- . :^jjsisty suited to their lowly state and calculated to repress any high-stom-ached pride or ebullition of unseemly levity that might be aroused by a (comforting bellyful of hot viands. * ♦ * Any wonder then that men who are almost unable to eat at all, and

whose, stomachs are quite unable to digest cold boiled beef and chilly. watery, vegetables, want to be able to come down town now and again to buy_ something hot and lighter, that will be less heavy on the chest and' from which- the, .-failing stomach will be able to extract a little nutrimenti ■ '■■■ •'■'•-,. • Yet, if information from quite a ,number of is to be believed it appears to be ; the rule to prevent this as far* as possible, by holding back the pensioners' pittance as above stated. How those poor wretches .fare 'who have no means at all, who "must perforce eat the cold food supplied by the Home, may be imagined. Another complaint is that the cheap "mixture" blankets provided are worn to gossamer -and six of them are totally inadequate* to keep warmth m the poor old bodies ,of those who, like King David m his old age "gat no heat" of their own. Men are compelled, through no fault of their own to accept charitable aid, now m their "sere and yellow," who m their day have occupied good po- | sitions and who have, known luxury and plenty; ■.•illness arid old age having deprived these , of the , power— not tihe w-illrHbp earii a living at their ■ j i tirade >or profession, they are forced to seek shelter m a Government institution, or perish m the streets. Is it* fair that the bread of charity should be made so bitter m their mouths ? Is it for this that kindhearted people warmly assist .the Government with donations m mpney and m kind ? It is at any rate desirable that these good people should be made aware of the manner '. m which their charity is adriiinistered, and of the fact that if . a worn and w.orld-weartr veteran ventures to say that he cannot, through physical disability, eat the food as provided , he "is told ■ roughly, "Well, get out ; you're not forced to, 'but you'll get mo other here."