WPA Film

workers each Community had to plan jobs which would utilize and preserve their skill and training and above all the work must be a real contribution to the welfare of the community in planning traffic control for congested cities jobs have been found require varying degrees of skill in the study of traffic problems the first step is to determine the number of vehicles pass a given point then experts are employed to lay out new routes and regulations which will ensure greater safety for both motorists and pedestrians Manpower for hundreds of such surveys is provided by The Works program tests have been devised to determine the ability and fitness of drivers so that the element of human failure may be eliminated in cooperation with the police departments of several cities automobile inspection stations have been established in an effort to reduce the number of unsafe vehicles on on the road under the supervision of expert mechanics every safety device is carefully checked for perfect operation the laws of many states and cities require a regular inspection of this nature and the possession of an up-to-date inspection label is necessary before the car owner may use his automobile on the streets and highways another example of useful employment is found in the sewing rooms operated by The Works program in practically every city in the country expert craftsmanship is encouraged in design groups associated with the sewing projects women who are the principal support of their families are paid for their work and the millions of garments and miscellaneous articles they produce are distributed free to families on relief or to tax supported institutions for some of the women who work in these sewing rooms the training and practical experience they receive will not only make them better Housewives but it may also open up Avenues to a permanent source of income many other types of employment are provided for women in a number of weaving projects instruction is given in an interesting and useful craft part-time employment is provided in many kitchens where clean wholesome school lunches are prepared for undernourished children of needy [Music] families in library and schools skilled workers are employed in repairing and rebinding millions of [Music] books in many places where books were hard to find over 2,000 traveling libraries now Supply the demand for knowledge and entertainment in public nursing projects are employed graduate and registered nurses who have been removed from the relief roles some of the nurses visit homes often in isolated localities bringing instruction to needy and working mothers in the care and feeding of children special attention is given to maternity care and General Health supervision where no other medical assistance of this nature is available the nursing projects bring health and happiness where formerly death and misery were all too common their visits run into the Millions New interests have vanquished the darkness of Despair in the lives of thousands of sightless men and women as a result of several projects in which books and maps have been translated into Braille the written language of the [Music] blind the proof reading of these works is done by sightless experts in some cities instruction is given in the reading of Braille maps The Tragedy of blindness has been the lot of thousands of our people in regions where tracom a dread eye disease is prevalent many of its victims are prevented by poverty isolation or infirmity from receiving medical attention to these people come visiting nurses to examine suspected cases and provision has been made for transportation to free clinics with this assistance Medical science has found it possible to control a disease which is a menace to young and old alike in many cases affecting every member of a large [Music] family needless to say the staff necessary to maintain this important service is recruited from the trained workers of the regions concerned and again useful employment is combined with an Enterprise of great and immediate value to the community everyone is familiar with the fine work being done by the famous Warm Springs foundation in the Cure of children crippled by infantile paralysis 2 thousands who would otherwise be hopeless cripples for the rest of their lives has been given the chance to overcome their handicaps much of the success of the treatment given at Warm Springs and elsewhere depends upon the existence of therapeutic pools in which patients May grad will recover the use of their muscles through exercise made easier by the support of warm water in many parts of the country WPA labor has constructed pools such as these and trained WPA workers make up the staffs which assist in the medical [Music] treatment this therapeutic pool is in the James whitcom Riley Memorial Hospital in Indiana made doubly interesting by Riley's Immortal poem about the little crippled boy with curvature of the spine in hundreds of cities The Works program safeguards the health of many thousands of normal children of preschool age in Nursery schools the children of needy and working mothers are provided with the best of care and medical supervision projects which are part of a broad educational program in which the WPA has helped millions of children and adults super supervised play activities and preschool training under competent instructors removed from the relief roles are part of the schedule at each of these Nursery schools meals are provided for the youngsters and plenty of health-building milk and orange juice is consumed during the midm morning and mid-afternoon lunch the food is prepared under the supervision of dietitians and at all times a careful check of the health and development of the children is [Music] maintained [Music] in these Nursery schools the youngsters acquire habits which will guard their health later in life here is a work which lays the foundation for a new generation of good [Music] citizens another part of the works program enters the field of adult education and this subject Embraces a number of widely varied projects some of the most most interesting of the WPA projects in adult education are the classes in which hundreds of thousands of foreign born people learn the language and customs of their adopted [Music] country vocational training project are another branch of the adult education program many classes have been established in which instruction is given to men and women who will find very practical uses for their newly acquired knowledge in their daily lives every effort is made to adapt the instruction to the need and Native ability of the student women are instructed in the arts and crafts for which they are best fitted as exemplified in the milin [Music] classes in the same general category we find classes for men in which the students are initiated into the art of tailoring through the training they receive here they will be unable to take up a profitable trade which will assure them of work and [Applause] Independence a project which combines Rehabilitation and education is found in the many household training classes operated by the WPA here future Housewives are instructed in homem making and inexperienced girls from relief families are given training which will make them self-supporting as the girls Master each branch of household art their progress is indicated on a chart upon graduation the girls are placed through an employment service conducted by The Works [Music] program to the young people of the nation eager in their quest of knowledge The Works program in cooperation with the National Youth administr ation offers part-time employment to enable them to continue their education the type of employment offered is determined by the needs of the community in which the young people live in Fruit growing districts canning units have been set up in which girls can and preserve fruit for local householders part of the product is distributed to families on [Music] relief an interesting project in New England is that in which B many of them from seaf firing families are engaged in the catching and breeding of fish and the restocking of fishing grounds as they cast their Nets into the sea the action symbolizes their search for Education security the simple Riches of life and toward this objective the normal Heritage of every Young American The Works program offers them a helping hand