There remains a heterogeneous group of applicants for general relief, most of whom asked for money for living expenses, or for such inexpensive things as false teeth, trusses, and spectacles. Of the 50 persons who applied for general relief, 20 were refused. The total amount paid out in grants to the remaining 30 was $1,735.70.
Three years after the grants were made 10 of these persons, five of whom received less than $25 each, were believed to be independent, 15 were in the Relief Home, one was dependent on other charity, and four were dead.
2. Between April, 1907, and April, 1909, 68 persons who had been at Ingleside Model Camp at some time, in addition to the 14 persons in the seven families already considered in [Table 119] and on page 342, applied to the Associated Charities.[276] Since these 68 persons did not apply to the Corporation during the first year after the fire they must either have gone from Ingleside to friends or must have expected to be self-supporting. More than half of them were over fifty years of age and nearly all were more or less incapacitated; in short, they do not seem to have differed from those who before the fire found their way to the almshouse. On April 18, 1909, 39 of these were in the Relief Home, four were in asylums or hospitals, four had left the city, and three were self-supporting. With regard to 18 persons of this group no information could be obtained.
[276] See [Table 119], [p. 336].
3. The most conspicuous thing about those who did not apply for rehabilitation, both men and women, is their high proportion of disabilities, a proportion even higher than that of the applicants. Of the 585 non-applicants among the single or widowed men and women,[277] no less than 330, 56 per cent, were infirm or crippled, or needed special care for some reason. [Table 121] shows the nature of their disabilities.
[277] See [Table 119], [p. 336].
TABLE 121.—DISABLED SINGLE AND WIDOWED INMATES OF INGLESIDE MODEL CAMP WHO DID NOT APPLY FOR REHABILITATION, BY SEX AND NATURE OF DISABILITY
| Nature of disability | NON-APPLICANTS WITH EACH SPECIFIED DISABILITY | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Wo- men | Total | |
| Infirm or crippled persons: | |||
| Too infirm to work | 33 | .. | 33 |
| Lame or crippled | 19 | 11 | 30 |
| Feeble | .. | 21 | 21 |
| Without one leg or one arm | 19 | .. | 19 |
| Blind or very deaf | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| Paralyzed | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| Bed-ridden | .. | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 91 | 42 | 133 |
| Persons needing special care: | |||
| Sick | 44 | 23 | 67 |
| Normally convalescent | 31 | 17 | 48 |
| Injured in accidents | 33 | 2 | 35 |
| Senile or demented | 16 | .. | 16 |
| Severely rheumatic | 15 | 4 | 19 |
| Tubercular | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Total | 143 | 54 | 197 |
| Grand total | 234 | 96 | 330 |
Four-fifths of the 585 non-applicants were over fifty years of age. Nevertheless, they applied for no relief other than shelter for a longer or shorter time at Ingleside. Their neglect to make application for rehabilitation may be set down in a great measure to the want of initiative due to infirmity (more than one-seventh of the number have since died), and to the apathy that comes to the inevitable institution inmate. In 1909 one-third of this group were in the Relief Home or in some other charitable refuge. But the margin of over one-third of the remainder whose condition was known, who went to work or to friends and were not as yet dependent on charity, is surprisingly large.
[Table 122] shows what became of the non-applicants as far as the facts are known.