The Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants (MABYS) was a voluntary organisation of middle- and upper-class women, which aimed to support poor young women and girls in London and encourage them to become

domestic servants A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

Foundation

The

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

says that this organisation was founded by

Caroline Emelia Stephen Caroline Emelia Stephen (8 December 1834 – 7 April 1909), also known as Milly Stephen, was a British philanthropist and a writer on Quakerism. Her niece was Virginia Woolf. Life Stephen was born on 8 December 1834 at Kensington Gore on Hyde Pa ...

and her cousin.Margaret M. Jensen, 'Stephen, Caroline Emelia (1834–1909)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 201
accessed 10 Dec 2015
/ref> The same source says it was founded by Jane Nassau Senior, Britain's first female civil servant, and social reformer

Henrietta Barnett Dame Henrietta Octavia Weston Barnett, DBE (''née'' Rowland; 4 May 1851 – 10 June 1936) was an English social reformer, educationist, and author. She and her husband, Samuel Augustus Barnett, founded the first "University Settlement" at Toyn ...

in 1875. It was chaired from 1880 to his death in 1901 by Brooke Lambert.

Purpose

The organisation aimed to support poor young women and girls in London, prevent girls from becoming prostitutes, criminals or

alcoholics Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

, and provide a steady supply of

domestic servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

s. The

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

had led to large numbers of children being taken from their families by the authorities and raised in

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

s and Poor Law schools. Children were discharged from these institutions at age 14 to survive as best they could; this practice led to severe social problems, as unqualified children turned to crime and prostitution. Until the formation of MABYS, the only formal support given to those discharged from workhouses was the offer of subsidised transport to Canada or Australia. MABYS aimed to monitor and support girls discharged from residential institutions, in an effort to find them employment as domestic servants and discourage them from becoming prostitutes or alcoholics. MABYS volunteers would visit and befriend girls discharged from Poor Law care, providing advice and assistance with finding housing and new employment where necessary. By the 1880s MABYS had 25 branch offices and 17 associated care homes, and by the 1890s MABYS had over 1,000 volunteers, and was processing applications for employment from over 7,000 girls per year, of whom over 5,000 per year were successfully placed, around 25% of whom came from London's Poor Law schools. MABYS strongly discouraged contact between girls in their care and their relatives, amid concerns that children would acquire bad habits from their families, or become unsettled by relatives, who would often attempt to remove the children. Jane Nassau Senior, with the support of

Thomas John Barnardo Thomas John Barnardo (4 July 184519 September 1905) was an Irish-born philanthropist and founder and director of homes for poor and deprived children. From the foundation of the first Barnardo's home in 1867 to the date of Barnardo's death, nea ...

, had lobbied for MABYS, and similar bodies, to be automatically made guardians until the age of 20 for any child who had been in Poor Law care for over five years. MABYS grew rapidly. In 1887 the Association opened a residential training centre for

feeble-minded The term feeble-minded was used from the late 19th century in Europe, the United States and Australasia for disorders later referred to as illnesses or deficiencies of the mind. At the time, ''mental deficiency'' encompassed all degrees of educa ...

girls, aiming to find them appropriate employment, and by 1896 the Association was operating lodging-houses and training centres for unemployed women, and had expanded its remit to cover girls coming to London in search of work and girls from industrial schools. Following social changes in the wake of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

MABYS went into decline, although it formally remained in existence until at least 1940. In 1948 the

National Assistance Act The National Assistance Act 1948 is an Act of Parliament passed in the United Kingdom by the Labour government of Clement Attlee. It formally abolished the Poor Law system that had existed since the reign of Elizabeth I, and established a social s ...

abolished the Poor Law, and responsibility for education and training was brought under the control of the state.

Notes and references

;Notes ;References ;Bibliography * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Metropolitan Association For Befriending Young Servants Charities based in London Educational charities based in the United Kingdom *Metropolitan Women in London Women's organisations based in the United Kingdom