PSS (UK) is a national social enterprise in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Liverpool Personal Services Society was founded by

Eleanor Rathbone Eleanor Florence Rathbone (12 May 1872 – 2 January 1946) was an independent British Member of Parliament (MP) and long-term campaigner for family allowance and for women's rights. She was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool. E ...

and

Dorothy Keeling Dorothy Clarissa Keeling (2 December 1881 – 27 March 1967) was a British social worker who joined The Bradford Guild of Help and went on to Liverpool where she transformed voluntary efforts there and in the UK. Life Keeling was born in Bra ...

in 1919, for over 100 years PSS has provided a range of support services. The charity operates services in Liverpool, Manchester, Wirral, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire and North Wales.

Head office

PSS's head office is in Eleanor Rathbone House, Derby Road in the Sandhills area of Liverpool. PSS moved into this office in 2018 from its previous home on Seel Street in the city centre.

History

In 1918 the personal services committee of the Liverpool Council of Voluntary Aid was established with

as its first secretary. Founded in 1919 by philanthropist and prolific social campaigner

and social worker and campaigner Dorothy Keeling in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. The title 'Liverpool Personal Services Society was not adopted until 1922 but those involved with its creation were philanthropist and prolific social campaigner

', Dorothy Keeling,

Elizabeth Macadam Elizabeth Macadam (10 October 1871 – 25 October 1948) was, along with her close friend Eleanor Rathbone, a leading figure within the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and its successor body, the National Union of Societies for Equal ...

(1871–1948), and academic

Frederic D'Aeth Frederic George D'Aeth (1875 – 1940) was a British social administrator, lecturer and author of books on social matters, whose work particularly in Liverpool "played a key role in winning for the city its status as the flagship of social ...

. They saw the need for friendly visiting. The PSS faced opposition by other societies who saw it as offering no material help and as was just another competitor. Keeling would remain as the secretary of the PSS until the start of the second world war. It was not just advice as the volunteers ran boot and clothing clubs, a loan scheme, a holiday scheme and in 1932 the well funded Central Relief Society used the PSS to find the best place for its funds. The advice offered included bureaux for new tenants, legal and marital advice, visiting and care for the old and disabled. In 1935 there were 9,000 families who had asked for help. A quarter of these were cases referred to the PSS by other bodies but in the remaining cases the families had sought out the PSS themselves. They were supplying reliable and unbiased advice to families and by 1939 they had 560 volounteer workers. The charity's first headquarters was on Stanley Street in Liverpool. A long queue of people that could be found lining up on its winding staircase to speak to someone at Liverpool Personal Services Society. 'The Crowded Stairs' was the title of Dorothy Keeling's book about social work in Liverpool, including the Liverpool Personal Services Society, 'The Crowded Stairs'.

References

External links

PSS (UK) websiteShared Lives Plus
*{{EW charity , num=224469 , name=PSS (UK) Personal Service Society Charities based in Merseyside

Head office

History

See also

References

External links