WANTED: HOSPITALITY FOR CHILDREN.
Hospitality, both in London and the country, is often needed for the children, and offers of help of this sort will be most gratefully welcomed.
Hospitality in London may be needed during the holidays or at any time when an emergency arises. For example, when the mother of the family falls ill and needs hospital treatment, she cannot get it unless she can make some arrangement for her small children. If she has no money such an arrangement is impossible to make, but if the Community had a list of offers of possible hospitality the Directors would know in such an emergency where to apply for help.
Besides this, a shelter during Bank holidays is wanted for many of the children. These days, as kept by some of the people of London, are without doubt the worst days of the year for the children, and for some of them hospitality given for these days is very necessary.
Hospitality during the holidays is wanted both in London and in the country or at the seaside. To many of the mothers, who are widows in daily work, the holidays are a serious problem. If there are no older brothers and sisters to look after the young children they have to be locked out in the street from early morning till six or seven at night, in all weathers, with a paper bag full of food for their meals. The deterioration of character after even a short time of such an existence is noticeable in every child and is inevitable. On the other hand, the difference, though in the opposite direction, in a child who has had the good fortune to receive hospitality is quite as marked.
Anyone who is able to help is therefore begged to write saying for how long a time they could give hospitality and to how many children, and whether they could be taken with or without payment. Whenever it is possible the mothers pay what they can for the board of their children.
The children will always he sent clean, and with special outfits when required. If the offer is for a place out of town arrangements will, if necessary, he made for the children’s journeys.
Much help has been given in this way in the past year which has been most useful to the Community. One of the mothers, who had left the district, was able to take a baby for two weeks while the other mother was in hospital, and in this case the mother who was ill was able to make a small payment. In another case one of the school beds was lent to enable a baby to be taken in while the mother was ill.
Six children were taken to the Hampstead Garden Suburb for a Bank Holiday week end, and at the present moment four of the children of the Community are receiving hospitality.