Public Assistance and Social Welfare

Home Relief
Home Relief was a local municipal program funded by the State of New York through the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration created by the Wicks Act of 1931. To say that it was a local, municipal relief program, however, does not mean that New York City was the only locality to have enacted it as a relief measure. Localities throughout New York State employed Home Relief to ameliorate the ravages of massive unemployment and economic dislocation. In New York City, Home Relief was administered by the Home Relief Bureau of the Department of Public Welfare.

The relationship between Home Relief and later New Deal programs is significant and worth noting. It was the New York social work, settlement house, and charity work communities who, in the face of unprecedented unemployment, reevaluated prevailing relief philosophies, mobilized relief networks, and agitated for public assistance at municipal, state, and federal levels. It was these indefatigable New Yorkers who took their calls for public assistance to the halls of Congress and lobbied for what eventually became the New Deal. It is also no small coincidence that Franklin D. Roosevelt was Governor of New York when Home Relief was enacted and the President who oversaw the construction of the New Deal and the birth of the American semiwelfare state. What is more, many of the members of Roosevelt's cabinet-the architects of the New Deal-were from the New York social work, settlement house, and charity work communities-Harry Hopkins and Francis Perkins, for example.1

For some fifty-five years, the practice of providing families with public assistance in their homes, also known as outdoor relief, was suspended in New York City-the municipality was legally barred from granting relief to persons in their own homes, outside of the poorhouse. It was not until 1931 when the city began to fully feel the devastation wrought by the Great Depression, that a return to outdoor relief was enacted as an emergency measure.2

On December 28, 1931, the Home Relief Bureau was created, signaling the return of the city to granting relief to all needy residents in their homes. Created under the 1931 State of New York Wicks Act, it provided for the creation of a State Temporary Emergency Relief Administration, under which provision was made to partially reimburse localities for home and work relief expenditures on the condition that they be governed by rules laid down by the Administration.3

The social work community of New York had been instrumental in agitating for this change. With the funds earmarked for private relief virtually exhausted, the social workers' only recourse was to turn to city government for public assistance. It took the leaders of social work about ten weeks to abandon a cherished doctrine: that private philanthropy should care for the poor. They had expended great effort and ingenuity in adding new programs for the unemployed to their regular services, but massive unemployment upended the theory that private voluntary actions would suffice in a crisis. Under the auspices of the Welfare Council, directors of the city's major charities and settlement houses implored government officials to act immediately. It was in response to their demands that municipal and state officials, including the Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, passed legislation enabling the city to spend public monies for relief. Before the leaves had fallen in 1931, the state government of New York would enter the fray, and before snow had covered the city's avenues again, reformers would carry their calls into the halls of Congress. New York State had been the first to aid localities; the federal government later followed suit.4

The following persons were deemed eligible for Home Relief:

"The Emergency Relief Bureau provides for needy families, domiciled attached men and women, and homeless men and women. Domiciled unattached men and women are defined as single persons detached from a family unit and living in
furnished room, apartment, or boarding with a family. Homeless men and women are defined as persons accustomed to living in congregate shelters or commercial lodging houses…Unattached women and families receive relief from Family Service district offices." 5

In order to receive Home Relief, an applicant would first go to a schoolhouse in their neighborhood designated as a Home Relief precinct office. In what must have been a terribly humiliating experience, after a considerable wait the applicant came before an interviewer charged with recording the stories of relief applicants. The next step in the process of being added to the Home Relief rolls involved a prompt visit to the applicant's home by a Home Relief Bureau investigator. Home Relief officials needed to verify that the applicant satisfied the residency requirements as specified under the Wicks Act of 1931. According to the Wicks Act, two full and continuous years in New York State immediately prior to application for relief, including one year in New York City, was required. Applicants having the two years residence within the state, but who had not lived in New York City for one full year during this period, were eligible for temporary relief pending the determination of their place of legal settlement within New York State. Once the head of the household established satisfactory residence, his dependents living in the same household were included in the budget even though they themselves may not have resided in the State of New York for the requisite period. Ordinarily, dependents meant the husband or wife and children below the age of 21 (including illegitimate children and regularly adopted foster or stepchildren.)6

After establishing residence, the Home Relief investigators were required to make inquiry as to real property, bank accounts, insurance, and other financial resources; conduct an interview with at least one recent employer; and determine the ability and agreement of family, relatives, friends, and churches and other organizations to assist.7

Following the establishment of the above criteria, a Home Relief investigator visiting the applicant family would determine:

(a) An estimate of the weekly needs of the individual or family, including an allowance for food sufficient to maintain physical well-being, for shelter, clothing, medical care and other medical necessities.
(b) An estimate of the weekly income of the family, including wages and other cash income, produce of farm or garden, and other resources.
(c) The relief sufficient to provide the estimated weekly needs insofar as the family is unable to do so from its own resources.8

The process of visitation and investigation could be difficult, painful, and humiliating for both the caseworker and the family. One caseworker recalled:

"I'll never forget one of the first families I visited. The father was a railroad man who had lost his job. I was told by my supervisor that I really had to see the poverty. If the family needed clothing, I was to investigate how much clothing they had at hand. So I looked into this man's closet-(pauses, it becomes difficult)-he was a tall, gray-haired man, though not terribly old. He let me look into his closet-he was so insulted. (She weeps angrily). He said, 'Why are you doing this?' I remember his feeling of humiliation…this terrible humiliation. (She can't continue. After a pause, she resumes. He said, 'I really haven't anything to hide, but if you really must look into it…' I could see he was very proud. He was deeply humiliated. And I was too." 9

According to folklorist Nathan Ausubel, many Lower East Siders on relief considered investigators raiding parties, able to invade their clients' privacy without warning or recourse; "soon they'll look into my teeth and pump my stomach to find out what foods I've been eating," one outraged Lower East Side mother complained bitterly.10

Such ill treatment led to protest and resistance on the part of some Lower East Siders. The Workers' Alliance was one organization that fought against the injustices of the newly created welfare system. Members would take on cases of families who had either been unjustly dropped from the relief rolls or could not obtain relief even though they desperately needed it.11

Once need was determined according to the above criteria, the following types of relief were granted:

(a) Food, of sufficient quantity, determined by the number, ages, and needs of the individual members of the family in general accordance with food schedules issued as the official standards of the New York State Temporary Relief Administration. For the Baldizzi family, given their number, genders, and ages, this weekly food allotment would have been broken down as follows:

1. 14 quarts of milk
2. 12 pounds of potatoes
3. 12 pounds of vegetables
4. 4 pounds of fresh fruit
5. 15 ounces of dried fruit
6. 9 pounds of bread
7. 7 pounds of cereal and flour
8. 12 eggs
9. 12 ounces of cheese
10. 12 ounces of legumes
11. 4 pounds of meat and fish
12. 36 ounces of butter and fat
13. 40 ounces of sugars
14. Cod liver oil for all children if possible.12

(b) Payment of current rent or payment in lieu of rent, in an amount not in excess of the current rent, to be applied for taxes and interest on a home owned or occupied by the client.13
(c) Light, gas, fuel, and water, and current needs.

The Home Relief Budget Manual defined and calculated light and fuel needs as follows:

"Light is a necessity of living. It is desirable, when possible to grant the type of lighting, heating, and fuel for cooking to which the client is accustomed, and for which the house is equipped. Safety hazards should be considered when changes are made. Local minimum charges of utility companies frequently must be met to prevent shut off of the service. Back bills should not be paid. Kerosene is usually purchased at a grocery store, and a common error is to expect the client to make this purchase out of his food allowance…The period during which fuel for heating is granted naturally depends upon geographic location and weather conditions. Such fuel is frequently furnished on the basis of a definite tonnage per month. However, the amount needed is more dependent on the character of the space to be heated and the efficiency of the equipment than on the size of the family or period of time." 14

(d) Necessary household supplies

The Home Relief Budget Manual defined and calculated household supply needs as follows:

"Household supplies should be construed as including such miscellaneous items as household cleaning agents, laundry items, toilet tissues, matches, etc. A family can usually replace small items of kitchen and cleaning equipment out of this allowance, if their cost does not exceed twenty cents. Large items such as brooms, mops, utensils, etc, should be provided by a special grant."15

(e) Clothing, sufficient for decent minimum standards.

The Home Relief Budget Manual defined and calculated clothing needs as follows:

"…factors involved include the kinds of garments needed, the number of each and the probable durability of each. Durability of the garment depends not only on the quality of the garment, but also on the care, laundering and repair, and on the fact that one child may wear out his clothes twice as rapidly as another. Special consideration should be given to the effect of unsuitable or inadequate clothing in the case of the adolescent child and the working member of the family. Adequacy is only reached by providing essential garments for each member of the family with an allowance made for necessary replacement and upkeep."16

The Home Relief investigator was charged with ensuring that a family was adequately clothed both through their own resources and with the assistance of the Home Relief Bureau. Depending on the quantity and quality of what was already owned, the clothing allowance for the Baldizzi family according to the Home Relief Bureau budget guidelines breaks down as follows:17

"Man at Work or Looking For Work" (Adolpho Baldizzi)

Hat or cap
Coat or jacket
Suit
Overalls
Shirts
Underwear
Night clothes
Shoes
Socks
Rubbers
Suspenders or Belt
Tie

"Woman at Work or at Home" (Rosaria Baldizzi)

Hat
Coat
Street Dress
House Dress
Underwear
Brassieres
Corset or Girdle
Slips or Petticoat
Night Clothes
Shoes
Stockings
Rubbers

"Girls-6 to 16 Years" (Josephine Baldizzi)

Hat or Beret
Coat or Sweater
Dress
Underwear
Slip
Night Clothes
Shoes
Stockings or Socks
Rubbers

"Children-1 to 5 Years" (John Baldizzi)

Cap or Hat
Coat or Sweater
Dress, Suit, or Rompers
Underwear
Night Clothes
Shoes
Stockings or Socks
Rubbers

"Boys-6 to 16 Years" (John Baldizzi after 1933)

Cap
Winter Coat
Jacket or Sweater
Knickers or Trousers
Blouses or Shirts
Underwear
Night Clothes
Shoes
Stockings or Socks
Rubbers

(f) Medicine and/or medical attendance to be furnished in the home whenever possible:

The Home Relief Budget Manual defined and calculated medical needs as follows:

"Medical and nursing care in their own home may be provided for chronically ill patients. In communities where there is a city physician or nurse on a salary basis, the care of chronic cases should be the responsibility of the local department of public welfare and should not be included in the budget where such facilities are not available. A complete statement of policies and procedures regarding medical care in the home may be found in the manual."18

Cash relief in the form of checks or vouchers was also provided, but does not appear to have been issued on as extensive a basis as relief in kind. The rules governing Home Relief issued by the TERA in 1934 stated, "Cash relief may be given for all items or for specific items only, such as food and incidentals. Rent, for example, may be paid by order in case experience shows that giving the client the amount of his rent in cash will result in the money being used for other purposes." According to these official guidelines, cash relief was to be provided on a stringent, discretionary basis. The guidelines state, "A selective system may be used as a means of dividing the case load between those families who will be given cash and those from who cash will be withheld. In case the selective system is used, each individual case must be reviewed first by local officials, and shall be subject to review by the field official of the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration. Under the selective system, when a decision is given to give or withhold cash it must be based on the same record of the family, in which must be stated a specific reason why cash is given or withheld. In case sufficient reason is not given, the field representative may require additional information as a basis for proper review."19

Each family on the Home Relief rolls was visited by an investigator at their home at least once a month, or oftener if necessary. The local field worker was required to be in sufficiently close touch with the family situation to avoid the necessity of applicants reapplying to the office for each individual order.20

Home Relief allowances were picked up by each family from the local dispensation station or precinct office. Deacon Hopper, of St. Augustine's Church and the Lower East Side Community Preservation Project remembers:

"…in Brooklyn, in the late thirties, we used to pick up our Home Relief dispensation at a station on Bedford Avenue. Money probably came by mail, but clothes and foodstuffs had to be picked up at the station. I remember getting at age 8 a brand new red wagon for Christmas. I thought it was so I could play at being a car to my heart's content, but actually it turned out to be the family's first 'shopping cart.' My Mom and I used to go to the Home Relief station at what seemed like the "crack of dawn" to pick up things like fresh milk, eggs, butter, corn meal, honey, etc. We did this at least twice a week. I hated it, but everybody in the neighborhood was doing the same thing so it came a before school ritual for all. At the beginning of the school year I would get two pairs of blue knickers (the kind little boys wore in the late 19th and early 20th century, not the British ladies' idea of bloomers) and two white shirts for assembly days. Girls wore blue skirts and a thing called a "Midi Blouse." At that age every thing was too big to start with, but after a few washings and a few months of growth they fit for a while at least. We also used to get plaid Mackinaws for the winter (ugly!!). I complained so much my grandmother took an old leopard skin fur of one of my aunts and cut it and resewed it into a double breasted Mackinaw-"cool." I must have looked like a midget Tarzan in a double breasted loin cloth! Add to this outfit an eton or (if you were lucky) a newsboy's cap and you were in high style at PS 44."

Deacon Hopper's recollection is telling of the clear discrepancy that existed between official guidelines and actual practice. In her study of the Lower East Side during the 1930s, historian Suzanne Wasserman too seems to suggest that rather than meeting official guidelines, Home Relief officials dispensed whatever surplus goods were on hand. She writes, "But even more distressing than the inadequacies of aid was the manner in which case workers supervised and distributed aid." Nathan Ausubel reported on the distressing way that they handled clothing distribution, for example:

"Size is disregarded, children are given adult clothing and adults are handed out children's hats. Trousers are frequently too tight…clients cannot pick out their own clothes; they have to take without complaint whatever is given them…the procedure of getting clothes is a very humiliating one. The client is given a clothing ticket by his investigator. He has to stand in line, often a block long before he can retrieve his treasure."21

According to both Nathan Ausubel and Deacon Hopper, recipients on the Lower East Side received too little money for rent, too little food, household items, and clothing. For example, one investigator in District Office 11 on Henry Street received $150 for clothing allowances to 62 families for the year 1938. This came to about $1 annually per person. These gross insufficiencies led to malnutrition and illness. As one investigator told Ausubel, "Almost everyone on relief on the East Side belongs in the clinic or hospital."22