Holocaust Survivor Support Systems.
 

Brooklyn, New York—Although more than 60 years have passed, for elderly war victims the wounds of World War II live on in the struggles of their everyday existences. The Humanitarian Aid Foundation (HAF), an organization with a mission to provide assistance to victims of atrocities, today announced grants to Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island's (JCCGCI) "Holocaust Survivors Support Systems" division to provide much needed aid to the dwindling number of indigent Holocaust survivors who reside throughout the communities of southern Brooklyn.  To date, HAF has given out 17 grants around the country.  JCCGCI is one of seven family and community service agencies that have recently been presented with an HAF award ranging from $10-$25,000 per city.  HAF funds will support several of the JCCGCI programs specifically designed to support Holocaust survivors, including homecare (housekeeping, shopping and laundry assistance - 209 survivors assisted last year with 13,248 homecare hours), transportation (to medical and essential non-medical appointments and services - 1,326 survivors assisted last year with 16,974 trips), case management (1,122 survivors assisted last year), homebound visitation (see: www.connect2ny.org - 136 survivors assisted last year with 1,310 hours of volunteer visits), home-delivered meals and weekend meals (525 survivors assisted last year with 19,890 meals) and a Café Europa program (known as "Club2600" which assisted 278 survivors last year).  The 2006 HAF awards cover costs for critical support services such as in-home and community based services to make the last years of the survivors’ lives as comfortable as possible.  “The liberation of the camps helped end a nightmare for a people and allowed all of humanity to dream again of a better world,” U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) said. “My late mother-in-law was among the survivors of the camps and I know we must never forget the horror of the Holocaust and the heroism of the survivors, many of whom still struggle.” According to Stuart Eizenstat, vice chair of HAF, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department and principle negotiator for the Holocaust restitution program in the Clinton Administration, “As a result of age and infirmity, the number of Jewish victims who survived the holocaust is declining. Time is running out to offer assistance to the approximately 120,000 living survivors in the United States.” Among fellow award recipients are Guardians of the Sick, Brooklyn, NY;  SelfHelp Community Services, New York, NY; Jewish Family & Children’s Service, Pittsburgh, PA; Jewish Family & Children’s Service of North Jersey, Wayne, NJ; Jewish Family and Children's Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, San Francisco, CA; and Jewish Family Service, Albuquerque, NM.   This adds to grants given in 2005 to organizations in Palm Beach County, Miami, Broward County and South Palm Beach County, FL; Portland, OR; Detroit, MI; and Chicago, IL. Eizenstat describes HAF as filling a vital gap: “The HAF awards are precisely what I had hoped for. These important awards supplement the delivery of critical services, such as in-home care and social outreach for isolated survivors.”

Rabbi Moshe Wiener, Executive Director of JCCGCI, expressed his profound gratitude to HAF. "Despite the generous support of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc. and the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC), the number of Holocaust survivors pleading for our assistance and the intensity of services they require far exceed available resources. HAF's grant is critical to the health and welfare of many survivors we would not have been able to assist without their funding". According to Gideon Taylor, executive vice president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc., "The needs are great and grants like these, which supplement the existing programs, are most important in the critical effort to allow survivors to live out the remainder of their lives with a measure of dignity."

The HAF awards were targeted to areas of the country where larger populations of elderly World War II victims tend to reside. National survey data[1] attest to Nazi victims’ increased social and economic vulnerability:

Ø      25 percent live alone, a circumstance that risks social isolation and contributes to health-related problems;

Ø      25 percent fall below the federal poverty threshold, compared to just 5 percent of non victims; and

Ø      27 percent describe their health as poor, compare to just 8 percent of non victims.

Never forget their suffering. Eizenstat noted that for younger generations of Americans, it is vital that survivors’ stories be retold. “While older Americans are familiar with the horrors of Auschwitz and other camps, educating younger generations of Americans about the war-related atrocities of the past reinforces why charitable contributions to victims of war by corporations, individuals, private organizations, and foundations are still vital today.” One particular Holocaust survivor who has benefited from an HAF grant is Mrs. F.  After being imprisoned in four concentration camps and finally liberated from Bergen Belsen in 1944, she moved to the United States where she raised a family.  Mrs. F is a cancer survivor and also has had open heart surgery, which has left her frail and weak.  She had been unable to tend to her apartment, shop or go to her many doctors’ appointments alone.  With the assistance of HAF and the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island, Mrs. F now has access to a homecare aide who cleans, shops and escorts her to her many appointments. The goal is to keep her as independent as possible and living in her own home.

The role of HAF. Launched in 2002 by leaders of the business and diplomatic communities, HAF has focused its initial program of work on providing support to Holocaust survivors and American prisoners of war who were held hostage and forced into slave labor in Japanese mines, factories, or other forms of hard labor with little food and no medical treatment. With an ambitious, but achievable, goal to reach as many survivors as possible, HAF is now working with more 20 pilot sites across the country. “HAF is unique as it is was brought to life by some of our nation’s most committed leaders in the humanitarian aid community, and was designed in a way that would quickly address those in our society with significant and immediate needs,” stated Niel Golightly, HAF board member and director of sustainable business strategies at Ford Motor Company.   More information is available online at www.humanitarianaidfoundation.org and www.jccgci.org; www.connect2ny.org 

[1] Kotler-Berkowitz, L, Blass, L., and Neuman, D. (2003, December). Nazi Victims Now Residing in the United States: Findings from the National Jewish Population Survey 2000–01. New York: United Jewish Communities. Retrieved August 19, 2005, from http://www.claimscon.org/forms/allocations/Nazi_victims_report.pdf

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MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG HOSTS JEWISH HERITAGE EVENT AT GRACIE MANSION

Mayor Bloomberg appears with Jewish rock band Blue Fringe, who provided the entertainment for the Annual Jewish Heritage Reception at Gracie Mansion.  Blue Fringe will appear at the New York Jewish Music and Heritage Festival, which will take place from September 10^th-17^th.  The festival is expected to attract 25,000 New Yorkers at venues across the city. Photo credits: Kristen Artz.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg hosted the City’s Annual Jewish Heritage Reception at Gracie Mansion on Tuesday, June 6, 2006.  The event marks the start of Jewish Heritage New York 2006, a month-long celebration that honors the history, culture, and contributions of New York’s vast and diverse Jewish community and is sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC) and the Sephardic Community Federation.  Other attendees included Israeli Consul General Arye Mekel, U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit Commissioner Jonathan Greenspun, and JCRC President Matthew Maryles and Executive Director Michael Miller.  During the speaking program, Mayor Bloomberg said, “New York City’s immigrant history is a major part of its success and the City’s diverse Jewish communities have been a big part of that history.  From the arts and entertainment, to politics and business, to science and philosophy, our vibrant Jewish communities have helped shape every aspect of public life.”- By J. Falk.

Sarah Ferguson has topped the fastest movers list for the past hour. That's what going on holiday with the Queen and being sprayed in the face with a bottle of champagne does for you. Eagle-eyed traders have pounced on SARFER stock - she got 2170 column inches, this week. Seven celebs got more press coverage than she did, but at 1.80 with a potential dividend of 2.33 her yield is already over 100 per cent and her price has shot up by nearly 47 per cent in the last 24 hours. Tom Hanks is another fastest mover - that'll be the herd of nuns chasing him. He's notched up a few controversial inches surrounding his new film based on the Da Vinci Code. Certain religious groups are literally having 'nun' of it. Tom costs 2.85 and as yet has no potential dividend, but once today's inches are inputted that should all change. Simon Cowell is another fastest mover. His price has gone up 35.93 per cent in the last 24 hours leaving him a bit pricey at 9.24. He may be fairly quiet all year round, but put a tone deaf dork with a funky dance routine in front of him and he becomes a lean, mean, column-inch-generating-machine. The X Factor starts on Saturday and we can't wait (for the inches). One to avoid today is Prince Harry. He costs an absolute fortune at 1228.73 with a potential dividend of 1.29. Who on earth is buying him? And do you want to buy this piece of old rope we're selling, it's a bargain, honest.