Dr. Frank’s articles appear in this space every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Since the war, interest in children has vastly increased. The widespread propaganda for relief of children in Europe and the education of many communities, coupled with an agitation over juvenile “crime waves,” have stimulated many groups to deliberate action, and programs have become comprehensive as well as varied.
Of extraordinary social value indeed is the welfare work on behalf of crippled children. Here as in many other fields of organized social service, such as mothers’ pensions and old-age security, the fraternal order movement is playing a prominent and ever growing part. Also a Jewish fraternal organization has participated in this field of philanthropy, and does incalculable good for unfortunate crippled children in New York City.
WORK OF FRATERNAL ORDERS
The Order of the Mystic Shrine, active mostly in the Middle West and on the Pacific Coast, pioneered in this field of social welfare. It has built hospitals in several larger cities, to which all crippled children are eligible without charge. Each hospital has fifty beds. Mobile units of twenty beds each have been established in various cities of the United States and Canada, and even in Honolulu, capital of the Hawaii islands.
Admissions to these hospitals are apportioned to contiguous states. The best orthopedic service is given by local physicians who are in charge of the technical work.
Among the Jews of America, the fraternal women’s organization “United Order of True Sisters,” established in 1846 in New York, has several years ago taken up the work on behalf of crippled children. Its eight lodges in Manhattan have formed jointly the New York Philanthropic League in Aid of Crippled Children, founded by Mrs. Rose Baran.
“TRUE SISTERS” AT WORK
This League provides relief, extra nourishment, medical attention, appliances, crutches, trusses, etc., clothing, hot lunches, recreation and physio-therapy in public schools.
Although the membership of the U. O. T. S., embraced by its thirty-four lodges and numbering 12,000, is entirely Jewish, this Order does not function as a sectarian body. All its activities and benevolent work are extended to all the needy and suffering regardless of sex or creed.
The United Order of True Sisters also maintains a vacation home for crippled children in Spring Valley, N. Y., with a capacity for sixty cripples, girls from six to eighteen. The children stay three weeks. Almost 75 per cent of vacancies are for non-members of the fraternal order. Rates are $1 to $5 a week. Fifty per cent of the vacancies are free.
The camp at Spring Valley, N. Y. is primarily for health. Special recommendations from physicians are noted, and subsequently reports are sent upon request to organizations which have sent children to the camp.
STATE SOCIETIES FOR CRIPPLES
Recently, an International Society for Crippled Children was organized in Ohio, and rapidly took roots in many sections of North America. Its purpose is the assistance of crippled children by the coordination and development of public and private resources for care—legislative, hospital, clinical and educational—and by the formation of state societies.
The main aim of these societies is to discover the crippled children, by census and also through friendly social agencies, and to spread facilities for care as widely as possible in order to place them within reach of a great number of the unfortunate children.
Such societies are now organized in over a dozen of our states and Canadian provinces. The New York State Society was responsible for securing the first State Commission for the Survey of Crippled Children, whose legislative recommendations became law on April 1, 1925.
The Elks of New York State and other fraternal groups aided the Commission to make the survey on which its important recommendations were based. The legislation of New York State in this branch of child welfare is considered a model achievement in many respects.
ACTIVITIES BY CITY AND STATE
Also the Board of Education of the City of New York maintains a wide service on behalf of the crippled children, mainly through the Division of Physically Handicapped Children.
An assistant director of health education is in charge of supervision of classes of crippled children in public schools and hospitals and convalescent homes. There are also classes of cardiopathic children, that is ones suffering from heart troubles, hospital classes, open air classes, outdoor classes for tuberculosis children and home instruction—for physically handicapped children.
The State Department of Education has a Rehabilitation Bureau, It functions under the Division of Vocational and Extension Education and provides counsel, advice and assistance. Training is given, when necessary and feasible, for physically – handicapped persons and for organizations, interested in the reestablishment of employable handicapped persons in occupations of self-support.
Dr. Frank’s articles appear in this space every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
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