Page Twenfy-four
THE 'JEWISH NEWS
How Jewish Community
Helps People in Trouble
By HAROLD SILVER
Director, Jewish Social Service Bureau
If you are one of the 23,000
Jews who contribute to the De-
troit Community Fund (through
the War Chest) you are a mem-
ber of the Jewish Social Service
Bureau which you help support
through your gifts. You prob-
ably have questions about what
the Bureau is doing. Is there
much need for relief nowadays?
How has the war affected opera-
tions? What are the recent de-
velopments in the family welfare
field? Has the expansion of the
Social Security program meant
any change in the operations of
a private agency like the JSSB?
The present article deals with
the purpose of the Bureau, the
kind of problems that are
- brought to it and the kind of
help the Bureau gives. Subse-
quent articles will attempt to
interpret developments in the
field and supply information
about the JSSB.
ducked his responsibility towards
his family for 20 years, just as
medical science at this stage can
offer no cure for an advanced
stage of cancer.
Similarly the Bureau can offer
no help or only an ersatz kind of
solution to a problem for which
the community has not organized
adequate treatment resources.
For example, we do not have in
Detroit satisfactory nursing
homes or sufficient institutional
beds for chronically sick persons.
Nor do we have enough psy-
chiatric service for mentally sick
people in the pre-hospitalization,
stage.
3ttiie 23, ii44
View Hole of Jewish Community
In Health, Welfare Program
Annual Report Shows Vital Part Played by Jewish Welfare
Federation Agencies in Care of Children and Relief
The role of the organized Jewish commu-
The number of children enrolled in the
nity in the health and welfare program of Detroit public schools, from kindergarten
Detroit is described in the annual report of through high school, declined from 241,702
the Department of Statistics of the Council in 1941 to 229,589 in 1943. Again using
5
of Social Agencies, issued this week. per cent rough yardstick to arrive at the
the
The bulletin compares the services ren- probable number of Jewish school children,
dered by public and private social agencies a figure of 11,480 is reached.
in Metropolitan Detroit during each of the
The extent of juvenile delinquency is not
four years from 1940 to 1943 inclusive, and broken down in the report, except by age
shows the part which Jewish Welfare Fed- groups and departmental jurisdiction. The
eration agencies have played in the care of number of truancies declined during the
children, family welfare and relief, group last schocil year from 15,478 the year before
work, informal education and recreation, to 12,514.
camping, health and related fields.
Increases were also shown in the number
The traditional pattern of communal of contacts with boys by the Boys' Juvenile
How the Bureau Helps
services in an American community is pre- Division of the Detroit Police Department
In part, the help the Jewish
sented to view by the figures, which show and in the number of complaints received
Social Service Bureau gives,
the flow of assistance over the years by by the Women's Division of the Detroit Po-
takes the form of advising people
Catholic, Jewish and Protestant organiza- lice Department.
about the services that are avail-
tions, strengthening and supplementing the
able either in the Bureau itself
A review of certain day-care centers in
or elsewhere in the community.
programs of governmental departments and Detroit, under public auspices, showed a
agencies.
In a large city like Detroit it is
jump from 13 units in 1942, to 49 in 1943,
impossible for the ordinary—and
Strengthen Family Life
and from 1345 children registered to 1569.
Involves
Thousands
of
Families
Stated very broadly, the ob- even not so ordinary—citizen to
Behind the figures is a story of humani- An additional 289 children received similar
jective of the Jewish Social know these things. How many of
tarian aid involving thousands of families care from private agencies.
Service Bureau is to help pre- the readers of this article, for
Children's Home in Use
serve and strengthen Jewish example, would know where to
and millions of dollars. The report high-
family life. The family is re- get help in filing documents to
lights the fact that even with the compara- Of special interest to the Jewish com-
garded as the basic and strongest bring an immigrant over to this
tively full employment of war-time there munity in the public field was the use to
social institution. By means of it country? Or what services the
remains a section of the population which which the former Jewish Children's Home,
government
offers
to
rehabilitate
we transmit to our children our
needs the combined attention of public and at Petoskey and Burlingame, was put as a
social heritage — the body of a wounded veteran? Or what are
private social services. boarding center for children of working
values, sentiments, ideals and the several plans that might be
In the field of family welfare and relief, mothers, with maintenance f u n d s from
ways of living which make our worked out for an aged parent?
Sometimes information and ad-
the public assistance programs loom large, public sources. Maternity homes showed a
civilization what it is. To fulfill
with 26,260 cases receiving assistance in daily average census of 134.
this function properly, the family vice is all that is necessary. More
must provide for certain impor- frequently, however, the person
Out of a total of 8,450 children, repre-
1943, evidencing a tremendous decline of
tant human needs. Among them coming to the Bureau is confused
senting
the monthly average of number of
need
from
1940,
when
there
were
42,878
are: securing an income, manag- and disturbed by his troubles. He
children
under care on the last day of the
cases.
Public
departments
participating
in
ing the home, arranging for the may not see them in their proper
month by protective and foster-care agen-
this
program
are
the
Detroit
Department
of
perspective.
Usually
he
is
not
physical care of its members,
Public Welfare, the Wayne County Depart- cies, only slightly more than one per cent,
giving the children affection and aware of his own share of re-
ment of Social Welfare, the Wayne County or 104 children, were under the care of the
security, training them gradual- sponsibility for them.
Soldiers' Relief Commission, and the Wayne Jewish Children's Bureau, the Jewish com-
Alternative Decisions
ly to assume responsibilities of
adulthood.
The result is that he has a hard
County Bureau of Social Aid's divisions for munity's agency for such cases. An addi-
time making up his mind which
the blind, dependent and old age assistance. tional 1,379 children were being cared or
Family Problems
Now it is obvious to any ob- of the alternative decisions to
Among the family agencies under private by other than Jewish agencies.
server that many families have make. For example, should the
Provision of hospital care, a f i e l d in
auspices which co-operate with these public
difficulty or are completely un- distraught mother effect a recon-
departments is the Jewish Social Service which the Jewish community participates
ciliation
with
her
husband;
or
able to satisfy one or more of,
Bureau. The private agencies showed a directly only through the out-patient clinic
these needs. The reasons vary. place her child in a foster home
volume of 5,668 cases during 1940, an in- services of North End Clinic, showed a
Unemployment and illness are and go to work; or accept place-
crease over 1939 largely because of the ex- daily average census of 4,361 in the hospit-
probably the most serious causes ment with the child in another
panded war activities of the American Red als under private auspices,. and 3,073 in the
of. family breakdown. There are family home; or maintain a
public hospitals. The monthly average
Cross Home Service Section.
others like marital friction, tru- home for the child and accept re-
number
of visits to the clinic services was
ancy, behavior we sometimes dub lief from the state? It is not easy
Occupancy High in Home for Aged
as "delinquent," stresses of ado- to make up one's mind.
27,881 for the public agencies and 13,323 for
A person under such stress
Of considerable interest to the Jewish the private hospitals. These figures are ex-
lescence, conflict between par-
community is the extent of the problem of clusive of Henry Ford Hospital, which re-
ents and children. And in days needs, first of all, a sympathetic
like these mental disturbance listener to whom she can unbur-
the aged and the chronic sick in Detroit. ported 22,005 visits.
and general "nervousness" looM den herself of her anxieties,
While the volume of service at Eloise In-
doubts and hesitations. Secondly,
Mental Hygiene Clinics Figures
as important factors.
irmary
declined from a daily average cen-
Mental hygiene clinics had a monthly
These and other problems may she needs to have the confidence
sus
of
3,924
in
1940
to
2,352
in
1943,
occu-
come singly or in combination. that the Jewish Social Service
pancy in the Jewish Home for Aged and the average number of 637 cases. Public health
Bureau, by virtue of its standing
JSSB Offers Help
other institutions for the care of the aged nursing showed 42,503 as the aver a g e
in
the
community,
its
program
Many families are able to
and
its
resources,
is
in
a
position
continued high. The Jewish institution was monthly number of visits through the De-
weather the crisis through their
to
help
her.
And
in
the
third
third only to the Burtha M. Fisher Home partment of Health and 12,842 through the
own strengths and resources.
place,
the
case
worker
with
and the Arnold Home in number of resi- Visiting Nurse Association. The monthly
Others receive help from friends,
average number of school hygiene inspec-
whom she deals should be equip-
dents.
relatives, the union, the school,
tions
by the Department of Health investi-
etc. And still others come to the ped by training and skill to un-
Of a daily average of 862 residents in the
gated
an average of 94 plants and work
Jewish Social Service Bureau derstand her troubles, outline the
private homes, the Jewish community pro-
alternative procedures open to
places every month and the Bureau of In-
for help. Because of the "char-
vided
for
126.
her, and bring her to a position
ity" antecedents of the Bureau
In group work, informal education and dustrial Health reported that average num-
where she can resolve her con-
most of the families coming to flicts, at least to the extent of
recreation,
the YMCA and YWCA led the ber of 20,461 employees were affected by
us are from the economically enabling her to decide on and
field in volume of agency memberships, the bureau's work. The Visiting Nurse As-
disadvantaged groups though execute a course of action.
with such interdenominational agencies as sociation served an average of seven plants
very few of them actually need
Summary
the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts also show- a month and made 5,181 visits on industrial
relief. The help, counsel and
The Jewish Social Service Bu-
ing an increasing enrollment over the last health matters.
support of the Bureau are given reau aims at strengthening Jew-
Another field of activity on which the
four years.
under two kinds of limitations. ish family life. Its task is to
One is the nature and severity deal with social and personal
Closely behind these groups, especially Council of Social Agencies reported was
of the difficulties, and the other problems that interfere with the
since the opening of the new Aaron DeRoy medical services in the home and in doc-
is the kind and extent of facili- normal adjustment and smooth
Memorial Building, has been the enrollment tors' offices. The great number of doctors
ties developed by the community functioning of the family. It does
at
the Jewish Community Center, with a in military service and changed economic
for dealing with them. The Bur- this through individual consulta-
membership of approximately 4,000, exclu- conditions have affected this general area
eau does not have a solution for tion with those who seek its help.
sive of its additional thousands who attend of service. The City Physicians' of f ice,
every human ill, much to the an- It gives information about serv-
which in 1939 made an average number of
the various mass functions.
noyance of some people who ices available to solve the prob-
7,434 visits per month, reported 2,608
happen to be interested in a case lem. And it helps people to
Fresh Air Society Rates High
monthly visits in 1943.
and who insist that "something "work through" their doubts and
Among the camping agencies, the Fresh
The Department of Health arranged for
must be done." Frequently even confusions and to decide on the
Air Society of the Jewish Welfare Federa- an average of 909 medical visits per month
the best case worker can do course of action best suited to the
tion continues as one of the big three, shar- and the County Department of Social Wel-
nothing with a husband who had need.
ing top honors for number of days' care to fare reported 165 visits per mon t h , as
campers with Bay Court Home and Camp against 804 such monthly visits in 1940.
Ozanam, of the Society of St. Vincent de
Other services recorded in the report are
Paul. In 1943, the Fresh Air Society gave the monthly average number of cases
14,241 days' care, out of a total of 172,674 served by the Council on Community Nurs-
days' care by all such organizations.
ing, the League for the Handicapped, the
The number of live births in the City of Legal Aid Bureau, the Travelers' Aid So-
Detroit rose from 30,315 in 1940 to 41,856 in ciety and the Visiting Housekeeper Asso-
1943, an increase of 39 per cent. Population ciation. These are agencies serving the gen-
estimates by the Conference on Jewish Re- eral public—and among this group also is
lations and other study groups place the listed the Hebrew Free Loan Association,
number of Jews in relation to the general with a monthly average of 43 loans made
Detroit population at approximately 5 per in 1943, as compared with a monthly aver-
cent. Assuming for the Jewish group a birth age of 176 in 1939.
ORE ' 0.NT
rate approximately the same as for the gen-
The report not only offers a comprehen-
`IIDIW ',Limnact
eral population, it may be estimated from sive review of Detroit activity in the fields
these figures, supplied by the Detroit De- of health and welfare, but gives a picture of
OIVd 3 Z
partment of Health, that 2,090 Jewish chil- Jewish social services in these areas in the
aovasod .s fl
•