| n.amer., hist. |
settlement house (a public building in an area of a large city that has social problems, that provides social services such as advice and training to the people who live there: Settlement houses were organizations that provided support services to the urban poor and European immigrants, often including education, healthcare, childcare, and employment resources. Many settlement houses established during this period are still thriving today. • The settlement house movement was a social movement that supported the idea of creating large housing projects to provide mobility for the working class. It grew out of a desire for reform that had already had effects in several other areas, such as the creation of numerous charities to help people in poverty. Widespread support for this idea began in Great Britain in the 1860s and quickly spread to other Western countries such as the United States and Canada. The Industrial Revolution and its social effects, such as long working hours, the safety hazards of the factory system, and the self-absorption of industrialists, alarmed the idealistic Christian Socialists who desired to help the poor rise above their condition through education and moral improvement  wikipedia.org) |
