fited by improved service to those assisted, in time saved to coun- 

 ty officials and, according to the report of the county officials, hy 

 an actual saving of funds. 



San Diego has a number of small private agencies which give 

 occasional relief to the poor, such as the Ladies' Hebrew Aid So- 

 ciety, the St. Vincent De Paul Society, both types of well known 

 organizations of other cities, the various missions, churches, and 

 benevolent and fraternal organizations. A thorough investiga- 

 tion of the results accomplished by these agencies would show 

 probably that they are working at cross-purposes with one an- 

 other, and with the County Board of Supervisors. Such at least 

 has been the condition of affairs in other cities farther advanced 

 than San Diego in methods of relief giving. An Associated Char- 

 ities in any city is organized for the purpose of preventing this 

 lack of system, or possible overlapping of charitable efforts in 

 aiding the poor. A main purpose of this Society is to act as a 

 clearing house among the community's different charicaoie 

 agencies, giving out information regarding individuals or fam- 

 ilies aided. Moreover, it opposes relief giving in the form of 

 doles merely, and instead makes a constructive effort to place the 

 individual or family back upon a self-supporting basis. This it 

 endeavors to do not only by relief giving but by the continued 

 personal service of its workers based upon intimate knowledge 

 of the family's needs and resources. A third function of an As- 

 sociated Charities is the studying of conditions in a community 

 which cause poverty and distress and as far as possible, the rem- 

 edying of such conditions through a definite social program. 



What has the Associated Charities of San Diego accomplished,, 

 if we measure its activities according to the standards set by 

 similar associations in other cities? Although it employs a wo- 

 man worker, well trained in methods of organized charity, the 

 society has been badly handicapped for lack of funds. On tv/a 

 occasions, it has not' been able to publish a yearly report for lack 

 of money. At times the society has been behind in the payment 

 of salaries to its woman worker, her temporary assistant, and the 

 small office force. Apparently, the community has failed to 

 grasp properly the main principles upon which the work of an 

 Associated Charities is based, and has responded but slowly in 

 giving it adequate financial and moral support. Credit is due,, 

 however, for what the Society has accomplished under such ad- 

 verse conditions. To illustrate, it acts as a clearing house in giv- 

 ing to the smaller private relief -giving agencies, information re- 

 garding needy families, and stands ready to co-operate more fully 

 in an exchange of such information. It regularly investigates 

 cases for relief referred to it by one of the County Supervisors. 

 It investigates the circumstances of individuals requesting ad- 

 mittance at the County Hospital. The Society's own fund for re- 

 lief giving has been of necessity small. However, it has expended 

 a total of $350.00 given on two occasions by the city council for 

 the relief of the unemployed. It has handled the relief funds of 

 certain fraternal organizations on special occasions, and it dis- 



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