THE JEWISH NEWS

Friday, November 27, 1942

Pige Seveh

War Accents Old Problems Faced
By Jewish Social Service Bureau

Emergency Aid to War Workers, Housing Program, Help
to Service Men and Dependents, Alien Job Issue,
Child Care Increase Demands Upon Agency

By HAROLD SILVER
Executive Director, Jewish Social Service Bureau

There is not a family or individual that has not been
affected by the war in one waST or another, either directly
or by conditions growing out of it. The Jewish Social Serv-
ice Bureau avid Resettlement Service are dealing at any
time with about 400 Jewish families in the city. The
character of the problems in these families has not

radically changed. Excepting for
unemployment the social condi-
tions and forces which tend to
undermine family solidarity,
morale, and the smooth function-
ing of family life are still with
us. Ill health, behavior problems,
adolescent conflicts, domestic
friction; maladjustment on the
job or in school—these continue
to plague people. The strain and
uncertainties of a world at war
accentuate or lend poignancy to
probleMs and difficulties already
there, and sometimes also create
new ones. Many of these are
beyond the power of any social
agency to relieve. They are in-
cluded in the price we all have
to pay for engaging in a struggle
to assure the kind of a world in
which social problems can be
dealt with in a sane and intelli-
gent manner. Oftimes, therefore,
the best a social agency can do
it to provide reassurance to the
troubled and an opportunity to
the anxious to relieve themselves
verbally of their fears and anxi-
eties.
In some cases, requests from
applicants are for help in situa-
tions growing directly out of the
war conditions. In this category
are the following applications:
— 1. Financial assistance to war
workers until their first pay
checks come through.
- 2. Help in connection with the.
draft, military service, establish-
ing eligibility for support under
the Government's allotment plan.
3. Help to aliens in obtaining
permission to work in war
plants.
4. Assistance to newcomers_ in
locating housing facilities.
Housing:
The war has affected many
aspects of the regular program
of the Jewish Social Service
Bureau. Scarcity of housing ac-
commodations is most serious.
The Bureau_ has had for many
years a boarding home program
which enabled many families to
avoid complete disintegration. In
this program a parent and child
or children are placed in a
family where the children re-
ceive complete care during the
parent's absence at work, and
can still enjoy the companionship
and affection of the parent even-
ings and week ends.. Within the
past year, the Bureau has also
begun the development of board-
ing homes • for aged persons or
couples who are deemed unsuit-
able for the Jewish Home for
Aged. With the influx of people

into Detroit, it has become in-
creasingly more difficult to sec-
ure boarding homes, whether for
families or old folks. The Bureau
has therefore embarked on a
plan of a more intensive recruit-
ing of such homes. A committee
of volunteers, under the leader-
ship of Mrs. Charles Lakoff, is
canvassing the Jewish families
in the city whose sons have join-
ed the armed services. These
families are urged to make ad-
ditional contributions to the war
effort by offering the vacancies
in their homes to the commun-
ity's program' on behalf ' of the
children and aged.
Child Placement:
The problem of housing is also
reflected in a shortage of foster
homes for placement of children.
While this is of primary concern
to the Jewish Children's Bureau,
the Jewish Social Service Bureau
is affected because it makes all
investigations for child place-
ment and thus is also responsible
.for working out satisfactory
plans.
To cope with the threat of
families with young children
being obliged to live in very
substandard housing accommoda-
tions, the Council of Social Agen-
cies worked out a plan for plac-
ing children in extreme emer-
gencies in one of the three Cath-
olic children's institutions until
the appropriate agency can make
other plans either for housing the
family or taking care of the
children.•
As a precautionary measure to
provide some kind of shelter in
an emergency for families with
children, the board of the Jewish
House of Shelter adopted the
suggestion of the Jewish Social
Service Bureau to admit family
groups in urgent situations for
temporary periods of stay. The
Bureau will be responsible for
making more permanent plans.
Day Care of Childreni
Closely tied up with the place-
ment question is the matter of
day care for children whose
mothers are working. Several
requests for this type of care
have already come to the Jewish
Social Service Bureau. This
problem is bound to become
urgent as women are increasing-
ly draw into gainful employ-
ment. The absence of a day nur-
sery in the Jewish neighborhoods
makes the question one of special
interest and concern to the Jew-
ish community. A partial solu-

tion may be offered by a plan,
now under study by the Bureau,
to develop family homes that
would take in children for day
care. At best, however, this can-
not be a substitute for a day
nursery in view of the potential
need.
Housekeeper, Program:
For many years, the Jewish
Social Service Bureau has offer-
ed the services of housekeepers
to families where the mother was
ill or institutionalised. This en-
abled the father to maintain the
home for himself and the child-
ren until the mother recovered
or returned. The war brought the
problem of scarcity of house-
keepers and higher wage rates
for those still available. To al-
leviate this difficulty at least
partially and to retain the ser-
vices of competent housekeepers,
the Bureau has introduced the
plan of guaranteed pay to •a
group of ten women. Under this
plan, the housekeepers will be
on call whenever the agency
needs them and would receive
payment for three-quarters of
the year whether they worked or
not. It is not expected that this
plan would be more costly as the
housekeepers can be kept oc-
cupied all the time, but even if
it is more expensive, the Bureau
will be able to retain at least a
nucleus of homemakers to con-
tinue a program that has saved
many a home from _breaking up.
Liaison with Juvenile Court:
In anticipation of arc. increase
in Juvenile behavior problems
due to war strains and' employ-
ment of mothers (such an in-
crease has been noted in other
communities)' the Jewish Social
Service Bureau has established
a liaison relationship with the
Juvenile Court. One case worker
has been given the responsibility,
in addition to his regular work,
to maintain a daily contact with
persons in the court who are in
a pOsition to recognize behavior
problems in their early stages.
In this way, the court can have
easier and more informal access
to the Bureau's case work ser
vices, and the Bureau can get
to problems at a point where
they are more amenable to treat-
ment.
Personnel Problems:
To date, only one staff member
of the Jewish Social Service
Bureau joined the army, but
I several others have resigned for
causes indirectly connected with
the war. There is generally a
dearth of social workers and
particularly of competent clerical
staff. Salaries in government ser-
vice and private businesses for
comparable skills have gone up

JUDGE MORRIS ROTHENBERG

WASHINGTON, D. C. — Judge
Louis E. Levinthal, president of
the Zionist Organization of
America, announced the appoint-
ment of Judge Morris Rothen-
berg of New York, a former pres-
ident of the organization, as
chairman of its National War
Effort Committee, established for
the purpose of "coordinating and
intensifying the participation of
American Zionist units through-
out the country in all branches of
civilian war services."

beyond the rates paid by the
Bureau. It is hoped that the
success of the War Chest will
make possible salary adjustments
in line with those obtaining in
other occupational pursuits.
The Refugee:
There has been a marked drop
in the relief and case load of
Resettlement Service. With the
dwindling of immigration due to
the war, the resettlement pro-
gram of the National Refugee
Service has practically come to a
standstill. With opening up of

War Guidance

Service

What is actually involved
when the Jewish man switches
from a white collar job to a
war factory? What can he
expect to earn? What prob-
lems may he meet in getting
along with his non:Jewish fel-
low workers? Are there rea-
sons why he should take
defense training even though
he can get a job in a war
factory without it?
Whatever your problems,
you may refer your questions
without charge to the Jewish
Vocational Service, 5737- Sec-
ond Blvd. (near P a 1 in e r).
The office is open Monday
through Friday, from 9 to 5
p. m. and for those persons
now working or attending
school Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday evenings from 7
to 10 p. m. Call TR. 2-4080, or
write for an appointment.

employment opportunities, many
refugees formerly dependent on
the agency have obtained work.
However, it should be remem-
bered that a residual number of
aged and chronic sick will re-
main with us for a long time.

Job discrimination against
aliense continues, through some
have secured permission to work. -
Resettlement Service continues
to help these people to appeal
their cases. The agency also is
devoting a good deal of time and
attention to migration problems.
Although securing of visas is ac-
companied by an infinite amount
of red tape, 'relatives here are
still trying to obtain them. While
the number of cases has declin-
ed, each requires three times as
much work as formerly. The
total occupation of France has
of course shut off the opportun-
ity for people there to secure
American visas.

IMPORTERS — CLOTHIERS

•

"Land for
Victory"

is the main objective of
the Jewish National
Fund in its program for
post-war planning.

Early

Redemption of the soil
of Palestine for the set-
tlement of homeless
Jews during and after
the war is a major need
in effective reconstruc-
tion work.

LOUIS XV
CHAIR

Recapture the
splendor and luxury
at Louis XV's court
with this gracefully
designed m a s t e r-
piece. Hair - filled.
Covered in import-
ed' brocatelle.

One of the means of
raising funds for land-
redemption is the an-
nual Zion Tag Tag to be
observed this Sunday,
Nov. 29.

Complete
Horne
Outififfeis
•

4 .

• Interior.
Decorators
. S.
Reupholstering
•

Support of the Jewish
National Fund prpgram
and • encourage our vol-
unteer youth-workers by
giving liberally to the
J. N. F. when you are
tagged this Sunday.

OVERCOATS

A

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WILLIAM HORDES

Open Eves. Except
Tues. and Wed.

KAUFMAN'S

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Z.O.A. War Efforts

r cc Furnitur, -

'

9.60,56 GRA.ND

E.R .
R IVER

4 -

President,
Jewish National Fund
Council of Detroit

SCHOLNICK'S

Washington Boulevard of Grand River