er self-expression, move toward building the sense and structure of the community.

Such a program would involve volunteers in meeting with small groups of people in their kitchens and living rooms, on their public housing quadrangles and in back of their stores, in church basements or their schools. The volunteer would help people to break down their problems (such as job finding, family life, health and safety, or recreation and leisure time) into specifies with which the participants could deal. He would staff the gang or the church sisterhood or the block club and help its par.icipants deal with their problems. He would aim at helping the participants to come together with other such groups in the area.

Many problems would more suitably be worked on by participants and staff from several groups. As residents overcome their immediate frustrations and find the examples of service, concern, and democratic process from the staff leader, their capacities to share and to stretch will be expanded and further steps to formalize a broader community organization apparatus could be undertaken.

The successful effectuation of this plan would permit the gradual withdrawal of a service corps and a beginning reservoir of volunteers for that corps and for the kinds of dedicated service which its volunteers would have illustrated.

(1) The Washington Urban League proposes to serve as the coordinating agency. Southeast Neighborhood House proposes to serve as the programing agency. Community groups listed below (in item No. 2) have indicated their interest in this program and will be available to provide supporting services. The enclosed proposal will be discussed with these organizations and will form a basis for planning a community mobilization to express a widely based support for such an invitation.

Some statistics on population, social, and economic need and crime and delinquency for this area are appended to this proposal. These figures assert the diverse character and broad distribution of population and the emerging character of social problems. The area is a natural laboratory for social demonstation, with its belts of predominantly Negro, interracial, and white occupancy, its pockets of high-income homes and low-income housing projects, and its nearby facilities for Navy and Air Force men who are sporadic participants in the life of the local streets and institutions.

With the submission of this proposal, local groups are being contacted and their ideas and interest will be the basis for further refinement in jobs to be done and opportunities to be extended.

(2) The Washington Urban League and Southeast House will serve as cohosts with supporting services provided by agencies, groups, and institutions-both local and District wide.

The Washington Urban League, with its wide, overall community support, will serve as the coordinating medium. Because of the unique and strategic position of the Southeast House, this resident agency will serve as the focal point of the National Voluntary Service project. It will also serve as the headquarters.

While the Washington Urban League would have the prime responsibility for administration, it would nevertheless delegate specific responsibilities to agencies in the area of their competencies. The league would provide staff personnel to serve as director or coordinator for the project. In this function, the Urban League would be responsible for making reports and keeping the community and general public informed about the progress of the project.

Each participating agency would have representation on the steering committee of the project. The direct supervision of Corpsmen would be under direction of professional staff members of the participating agencies. The staff personnel of the Washington Urban League and the Southeast House, collectively, would determine the necessary training for Corpsmen involved in the project.

(3) Activities of Corpsmen: The activities of the Corpsmen should permit them to become as integral a part of the community life within the project area as is possible. For this reason, it is desirable for the Corpsmen to spend each hour of each day either within the community or participating in community activities. This means that in addition to their assignments within their field of specialty or greatest interest, they will also be involved in social activities, e.g. dances and parties, and attend the community's religious services at least as ́observers.

In accordance with the basic principles of community development, the primary functions of the Corpsmen should be devoted to those areas which will

permit a more efficient usage of existing community resources and services. Hence, the emphasis should not be upon servicing or doing things for the indigenous population, but rather doing things with these people. The most effective activities, then, will be those which are demonstrable and lend great visibility for purpose of easy duplication by the residents themselves. It will be necessary for the Corpsmen to represent the broadest cross-section of skill and abilities possible. The specific duties of the Corpsmen should be directly related to the needs of the residents of the community. We know, for example, that most of these families have less income and more persons per household than the typical family of Washington. Hence many of them are likely to view income as their most crucial problem. In the short run, however, there is little, if anything, which a Corpsman could do to increase the earning capacity of a particular family. The greatest contribution of a Corpsman would be to assist families in the manage ment of their budget, and provide them with greater information about credit abuses which such familise are likely to encounter. A related activity of the Corpsmen may be to increase community involvement in such a manner that parents, especially unwed mothers, could exchange babysitting chores in such a manner that an 8-hour period each day would be available to such a person for employment. Additional suggestive Corpsmen activities are presented below: (a) Organizing community exchange work groups (in cooperation with local trade unions) which could perform much needed repairs, painting, landscaping, and cleaning up each others homes. (This will also enable certain skills to be taught.)

(b) Organize neighborhood or block groups so that more of the community's problems can be discussed and acted upon.

(c) The Corps men may be useful in supervising street gangs in order to assist in the channeling of the activities of such groups.

(d) Corps men must know the total community and its services because so many of the residents are unaware of the various sources of community assistance. With this knowledge, they can more readily refer these people to appropriate local agencies.

(e) Provide tutoring for slow learners and prejob counseling for school dropouts, counseling with students to prevent dropout.

(f) Lead in the development of cultural and physical training programs for youth.

(4) Monthly minimum subsistence costs (estimated):

(5) In support of the Corpsmen, various of the local agencies (both public and private) could make contributions which would either subsidize costs to keep them at a minimum, or eliminate them completely.

HOUSING AND FOOD

There are two alternatives for housing Corps men in the project area : (a) The proximity of St. Elizabeths Hospital and Bolling Air Force Base (both Federal installations) would facilitate group housing of the Corps men. Such dormitory living would contribute greatly to the esprit de corps of the volunteers.

(b) The placing of Corps men, either individually or in pairs, with families in the project area would, however, serve the function of making the volunteers actual members of the community. The families should be paid for the accommodations made available on an equitable basis as if the volunteers were regular boarders, if their financial status is such that provision of free accommodations would constitute a hardship. This is the preferable alternative as it would both benefit the family and the volunteer.

RECREATION OUTLETS

Washington is fortunate in that a great number of its recreation facilities are available without cost. Choice of facilities is, of course, dependent on the personal interests of the Corps men. Examples are:

(a) Cultural: Phillips Gallery and National Gallery concerts are free. Tickets for concerts and other cultural events at the Library of Congress cost 25 cents. The concerts held at the Watergate and the steps of the Congress, and plays at the Sylvan Theater are free (summer months only). Live theater is available at fairly low cost and the managements of such establishments might easily be prevailed upon to donate tickets.

(b) Physical: There are numbers of public tennis courts and playing fields, one of which is located in the project area. The Park Service sponsors hikes and walking tours in the parks and sanctuaries located in the District and its environs. YM-YWCA and Jewish Community Center facilities are available at nominal costs or might be donated.

TRANSPORTATION

The D.C. Transit Co. might, as a public-spirited gesture, either issue free passes for the Corps men or make transportation available at low cost as it does for school pupils.

HEALTH

Corps men might be able to become members of the Group Health Association as a group. GHA prepaid medical care providing both the costs of hospitalization and the services of a resident group of physicians (both general and specialized).

The District of Columbia Department of Public Health might make its specialized bureaus and the services of its hospitals available to the Corps men although they are neither legal residents of the District nor indigents. District of Columbia General Hospital is located within a reasonable distance of the project area.

SPACE

The facilities of the Junior Police and Citizens Corps, the District of Columbia Department of Recreation and the schools and churches in the neighborhood would be available for recreation, assemblies, and other purposes, in addition to the facilities of Southeast Neighborhood House.

(6) It is the object that National Corpsmen will be used only as a stimulus and catalyst to the community so that these volunteers can soon wane and the various facets of the project can be carried on by community volunteers.

While the Corpsmen are on the scene in the community, rendering services in the areas of their competencies, they can serve a twofold purpose. Since it is the object of this project to raise the standards of living of residents by helping them to help themselves, National Corpsmen may simultaneously help in the training of resident volunteers. These resident volunteers will then be able to take over the areas of responsibilities left by the National Corpsmen and the progress of the work will continue.

In order for the project to have sufficient time to progress, it may be necessary to extend the project, utilizing National Corpsmen for a 3-year period. During this time the project administration will be recruiting local volunteers for training who will, in turn, be given inservice training by the National Corpsmen. This procedure will guarantee a continuation of the program.

(7) While we are interested in their specific training, we are concerned about the ability of Corpsmen to work with persons from economic and socially different backgrounds and to involve them in programs of personal and neighborhood improvement. It is essential that Corpsmen bring to this experience certain personal traits: sensitivity-to the needs and feelings of others and a respect for the diginity and worth of every person; insight and understanding-the ability to use the knowledge developed in one situation to help solve problems in other situations; self-confidence-a genuine sense of the importance of his contribution as a volunteer to the solution of national and local domestic problems. Corpsmen should, in addition, be

(a) At least 18 years of age;

(b) In good health;

(c) Emotionally mature;

(d) The possessor of a background of education or experience required for successful participation both in the training programs and in subsequent performance on the job;

(e) Willing to serve in a volunteer capacity, without salary for a tour of duty of at least 12 months including the training period.

The training period for Corpsmen will be brief, therefore it is important that volunteers have some prior experience in neighborhood, school, church, recreation or other group activities. Preferably, this experience should be among lowincome families and should have been not less than 6 months.

(8) Preassignment training resources: The training of the Corpsmen should be related to their particular field or interest. The training period in Washington should consist of 5 weeks, divided in the following manner :

(a) The general orientation period of 7 days of 8- to 12-hour sessions at Howard University, which has been quite active in the recruitment and orientation of Peace Corps personnel. In addition, Howard University is currently working in the second police precint and the 49th census tract of the city. These areas and their problems are closely akin to the proposed project area and its problems. Hence the experiences of the Howard University project would be invaluable.

(b) Physical fitness is considered to be an essential part of this program. For this reason, it is felt that an initial 1-week period of intense physical preparation could be undertaken in conjuction with local armed force facilities. The applicants could spend their evenings at lectures and discussions with the various supporting agencies so as to become familiar with the problems which they are likely to encounter.

(c) The last week will be spent with the personnel of the Southeast House to become more familiar with the specific problems of the neighborhood. Specific assignments would be made at that time.

(d) There will be continuous inservice training and weekly seminars with specialists within the field of interest of the particular corpsmen.

APPENDIX I

The area proposed for service is enclosed in the following boundaries: the Anacostia River, southeast on Pennsylvania Avenue to the District line, southwest on the District line to Camp Simms, then along the northwest outside border of the Camp to Alabama Avenue, west on Alabama Avenue to St. Elizabeths Hospital, along the northeast and northwest outside border of St. Elizabeths Hospital to South Capitol Street, north on South Capitol Street to the Anacostia River, northeast along the river to Pennsylvania Avenue.

In 1960, this proposed service area had 52,283 people, a 23 percent increase over the 1950 population of 42,544. Most of this increase was due to the inmigration of nonwhites. The 1960 figure indicates 25,584 nonwhites, 49 percent of the total population and 26,699 whites, representing 51 percent of the total population. The area south of Morris Road and Erie Street (Census tracts 74.2, 74.2 and 74.3) had a 64.9 percent total increase in population from 15,267 to 25,174. In this area, the nonwhite population increased by 122 percent from 10,210 to 22,668. At the same time, 50 percent of the white residents moved out, as Negroes moved in during the 10-year period from 1950 to 1960. That area in 1960 was 90.1 percent nonwhites. North of this area, to Good Hope Road and Naylor Road (Census tract No. 75), racial change has proceeded at a faster rate (218.9 percent increase in the Negro population) but it has involved fewer people. From 1950 to 1960, 1,920 nonwhites were added to the area while 905 whites were deducted from it. Total population increased by 12 percent to 9,267 people; 29.9 percent of the total in 1960 was nonwhite.

The area north of this to Pennsylvania Avenue experienced the least change although it showed a 6.1 percent drop in total population-17,842 persons lived in this area in 1960 (down 1,153 from the 19,005 residents of 1950). There are a number of vacant living units but they are available chiefly on a racially restricted basis.

Few nonwhites have lived in this area and most are domestics employed by the white residents. Still, a slight increase (up from 0.5 percent or 99 nonwhites to 0.8 percent, or a total of 148 nonwhites) reflects some of the considerable pressures for housing from the Negro community.

This distribution of population suggests patterns of segregation in the area. Southeast House is located on Morris Road, at the geographic center of the service area, and at the border between the communities which differ by their

patterns of racial occupancy. The agency is deeply committed to maintaining services and programs of attraction to all residents of the area, and the presence of the house is meant to help to stabilize and to bring about better relations and fuller communication between the diverse population segments. Community organization efforts are aimed precisely at those goals.

The 1960 census figures revealed that there were 2,336 children under 5 in this primary service area. Sixty-two percent of those children come from the northern section of the area which is 99.2 percent white. Those who are of greatest need more probably come from the housing projects and other predominantly nonwhite parts of the community.

That which has been described above as the proposed service area is, with the addition of St. Elizabeths, also cited by the District of Columbia Health and Welfare Council as area No. 18 in its 1960 study of social and economic deprivation in neighborhoods of the District of Columbia. Of the 20 areas studied, Neighborhood 18 was 11th with a composite index of 78.3 (where 100 equals the city rate). This area was eighth highest (index of 95.4) in the number (1,917) of persons receiving public assistance (on June 1, 1960); eighth highest (index of 97.1) in the number (2,722) of persons in families eligible for surplus food (in June 1960).

The area was 12th (index of 63.7) in the number (1,585) of applicants eligible for medical assistance (estimated on basis of 7 months in 1959), 12th (index of 71.0) in the number (208) of births not receiving prenatal care (in 1959), and 13th (index of 64.1) in the number (208) of illegitimate resident live births (1959).

Police precinct No. 11 includes all of this area along with region southwest of Camp Simms and St. Elizabeths Hospital.

The 1961 Annual Report of the Metropolitan Police Department indicated 1,608 crimes reported for the 11th precinct. One thousand and forty-one of these crimes were of the part I class, as follows:

Five hundred and sixty-seven offenses were of the part II class, as follows:

8. A. Other assaults...

B. Other assaults-misdemeanors_

9. Forgery and counterfeiting..

10. A. Embezzlement and fraud..

B. Embezzlement and fraud-misdemeanor.

11. Stolen property (includes receiving -misdemeanor). 12. Carrying and possessing weapons-misdemeanor.

13. Prostitution____.

14. A. Other sex offenses___

B. Other sex offense-misdemeanor..

15. Offenses against family-misdemeanor.