| Administrative History | Aberdeen Children's Shelter was established in 1925 to provide care for children whose mothers fall sick to the point of requiring hospitalisation. In such circumstances, children were taken into the Shelter, thus permitting their fathers to continue working and avoiding the threat of redundancy. The Shelter also provided care for 'lost' [or orphaned] children (in 1936, 212 lost children were taken in) and short-term respite for homeless families. After the introduction of fostering services and Children's Officers, the Shelter continued to provide care for vulnerable children and families, and was used to foster larger families under the same roof.
The Shelter was originally situated at 38 Castle Street, but moved to larger premises in the Hardgate in 1952. Mary Esslemont served as Honorary Physician to the Children's Shelter for over 30 years. |