2023 Holocaust Survivor Program Report

DEAR SUPPORTERS: JSSA helps our neighbors and their families through their most vulnerable moments with warmth and acceptance. Our compassionate care is especially critical for neighbors who survived the Holocaust and rebuilt their lives here in the National Capital Region. The dedicated professionals and volunteers of JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program care for the physical, emotional, and mental health and well-being of our region’s survivors, honor their life experiences, and empower these resilient men and women to safely and independently age at home.

This year imposed distinct challenges on Holocaust survivors. Old fears were reignited by the war in Ukraine and by sharply rising antisemitism—globally, nationally, and locally. The renewed anxiety triggered by these world events was amplified by the lingering uncertainties and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. JSSA’s support, sensitivity, and return to pre-pandemic models of care were essential to survivors and their families navigating financial, emotional, and health challenges compounded by their historical trauma.

The stories of our clients demonstrate the importance of JSSA’s support and your donations. Read more to learn about the profound impact of JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program on the survivors of our region in 2022. As the survivor community grows smaller, older and more frail, their needs intensify, and JSSA’s support becomes more critical than ever.

JSSA is the only nonprofit in our region designated by international funding sources to deliver critical health and social welfare services to survivors of the Holocaust. While Claims Conference funding is significant, it is not sufficient to fully meet the needs of this community, many of whom live with limited financial means.

Your partnership and generosity allow JSSA’s dedicated team to provide comprehensive and compassionate care management, which makes it possible for Holocaust survivor clients to continue to live independently in their own homes with dignity and respect. Thank you for your steadfast support.

With gratitude,

Todd Schenk, Chief Executive Officer, JSSA

OUR APPROACH For many survivors of the Holocaust, an involuntary move to assisted living or a nursing home can give rise to deep fear and trauma by triggering memories of wartime experiences. Remaining in a familiar and comfortable environment, surrounded by family and community, is especially important to these men and women.

Cultural sensitivity is a hallmark of JSSA’s approach. More than 92% of JSSA’s clients are from the former Soviet Union, and two thirds of our care managers are bilingual in Russian and English. Care managers support clients in their native language while helping them navigate their local communities in English.

JSSA’s whole-person approach to care goes far deeper than supporting the practical needs of our clients.

We see and honor each individual we support, bear witness to their unique life experiences, and address their complex situations. Instead of addressing only the most pressing “presenting problem,” JSSA’s compassionate professionals assess each individual and identify the right resources from across our robust constellation of services to strengthen overall healing and well-being.

Our care managers serve the diverse needs of our community’s survivors with cultural awareness and sensitivity. JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program services are based on the Person-Centered Trauma-Informed (PCTI) model of care, an approach supported by our partners at The Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and The Jewish Federations Institute on Aging and Trauma. PCTI promotes an individual’s safety and well-being by recognizing the impact of trauma that person has experienced and encouraging individual preference and self-determination. Each year, all JSSA Holocaust Survivor Program care managers receive training in person-centered trauma-informed care.

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Anya* was born in Ukraine in 1929. When she was 12, she and her sister, her two young brothers, and their mother were forced to flee their village. They moved three times before settling in Kyiv in 1943, where they waited for Anya’s father and older brother, who had been conscripted in the Soviet Army. Anya spent the remaining years of the war cold, hungry, without any educational opportunities, and worrying about the safety of her family. When she met Eugene*, he understood her experience. Eugene was born in Ukraine in 1928 and he too, was forced to evacuate with his family, aside from an older brother who was drafted into the Soviet Army. Eugene also left everything he had ever known, spent the war years without adequate food or shelter, and experienced very difficult conditions.

Soon after Anya and Eugene met and married in Kyiv, they welcomed a daughter and sought out a better life for her by emigrating from the USSR. Anya and Eugene once again left their home and their community to move to the U.S. in 1979. They didn’t speak English or know anyone in their new country. But Anya and Eugene persevered, adapted, and found jobs. They raised their daughter in North Potomac, where they still live today.

Anya and Eugene are 92 years old and are very frail. Anya lives with dementia, and Eugene has had frequent falls. JSSA provides significant personal care support for both of them as well as medication reimbursement, food vouchers, transportation to medical appointments, and medical equipment to maintain their independence.

Because of this support, Anya and Eugene continue to live in their own home with respect and dignity. Their daughter said:

“We are a very engaged family, but both my parents’ health is declining and it’s an overwhelming time. Knowing that the Holocaust Survivor Program is supporting them through these challenging issues is a great support.”

* Names have been changed

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CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY’S HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN 2022 This year, JSSA helped survivors feel safe and supported in their homes with care management, home care assistance, nutrition support, transportation to medical appointments, financial assistance for medical needs, and pro- bono dental, optical, hearing aid, and advance planning services. We also helped clients feel connected to their community by providing social and recreational programs to alleviate isolation.

JSSA’s care managers once again offered regular in-person home visits following more than two years of pandemic-related virtual support for needs beyond home care, which remained in-person throughout the pandemic. The isolation of the pandemic triggered historical fears and trauma for many survivors. As we began to emerge from the pandemic, JSSA helped survivors reengage in meaningful social connections in the community including participation in JCC and adult day programs, concerts, cultural events, and regular medical and dental appointments.

JSSA HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR PROGRAM SERVICES

We also continued to offer online services that brought meaning and connection to the survivor community during the first years of the pandemic when in-person activities were suspended.

• Transportation to medical appointments

• The successful Uniper program, a virtual socialization initiative offered in English and Russian and introduced during the pandemic, reached 126 individuals with the support of a generous grant from the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies (NJHSA), which is funded by the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living.

• Other pandemic-era programs that were introduced to increase socialization and connection in place of in-person gatherings were valued and appreciated by clients. These include home delivery of gift baskets during Hannukah and Victory Day, which included beautiful blankets and warm scarves generously donated by staff and volunteers, and flowers and cards on birthdays and other celebratory milestones.

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• Care Management • Home Care (personal care, homemaker services, nursing assessments)

• Financial assistance for medical needs • Nutrition and food security support (grocery gift cards, Meals on Wheels) • Socialization

PRO BONO SERVICES • Optical • Hearing • Dental • Advance Care planning

Alice* is a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor living in Washington, DC. Born in Berlin, she was 10-years old when Hitler came to power. During the war, Alice was forced to work at a Siemens factory for two years.

Facing constant fears of deportation, she went underground and had many close calls with the Nazis during two years on the run. Many of her cousins, aunts, and uncles were deported and killed.

Alice came to the U.S. with her husband in 1947 and started a new life. Her daughter shared:

“My mother has really been enjoying her Uniper service. Since she is primarily homebound, Uniper offers her a chance to “go to a concert” or take a “tour of a museum” or “travel to a country.” These are all things she did in the past, and Uniper helps to enrich her life now. She also enjoys the live Shabbat service, communing with other friendly Jewish individuals and singing the melodies that keep her connected to her Jewish life.”

Twin sisters Lubya* and Sasha* share a subsidized apartment in Northern Virginia. Born in Minsk in 1936, the sisters were evacuated from Belarus when the Nazis advanced.

They survived the war in a small village in the Urals where their mother, who had been a physician, worked in the fields of a collective farm and their father served in the Soviet army. The family lived in a shed with animals and had no access to heat, so the sisters spent their days and nights holding each other for warmth. Stricken with sicknesses and lice and suffering from starvation, the sisters witnessed many people around them die.

Lubya immigrated to the U.S. in 1995, and Sasha joined her in 2018. Their JSSA care manager described how meaningful JSSA’s in-home, bilingual Uniper socialization programs have been to the sisters:

“They love to participate in JSSA’s exercise programs to stay active without leaving the house. Their favorite program is “Yoga with Yana” in the morning. One of them lives with depression and dementia. Nature documentaries from Uniper bring her peace and calm over and over again, and her face lights up as she watches animals in their natural habitats. Both sisters are very grateful for Uniper.”

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WHOM WE SERVE JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program serves members of our region’s survivor community who have the fewest financial resources. In 2022, we served 407 Holocaust survivors living in the National Capital Region.

Most reside in Montgomery County, 52 live in Northern Virginia and a few clients reside in Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C. Almost all our clients (92%) are from the Former Soviet Union and have limited English proficiency.

Most of our clients live on fixed incomes and rely on JSSA to help them supplement government services, including food stamps, housing vouchers, and Medicaid.

This year, 96% of Holocaust survivor clients remained safely living at home.

This rate has remained consistent over the past three years despite the challenges of the pandemic and the increasing needs of aging clients.

While the number of survivors served by JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program declines as this community ages, their increasing acuity necessitates additional hours of home care to enable each individual to continue living independently. In 2022, JSSA provided an average of 620 home care hours per client, up from an average of 596 hours of service provided to each client in 2021, and 493 hours per client in 2020. And there are still new people entering the program as their changing financial and health status make them eligible for services.

HSP CLIENTS SERVED

NEW CLIENTS SERVED

AVERAGE AGE OF HSP CLIENTS

PERCENTAGE OF CLIENTS ASSESSED AS LOW FUNCTIONING**

FY 2018

481

50

85

80%

FY 2019

474

29

85

80%

FY 2020

470

36

86

82%

FY 2021

443

23

86

89%

FY 2022

407

15

87

93%

** Low functioning is defined as scoring 11 or greater on the Diagnostic Assessment Form (DAF). Data reflects Q3 of each year.

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Vladimir* and Tatiana* were both born in Ukraine in the late 1930s.

Vladimir fled to Uzbekistan with his mother after his father was killed during the war. Tatiana, at the age of two, was forcibly relocated to a ghetto, where she and her family remained for three years. This couple met after the war, married, and raised a daughter. A few years after the fall of the Soviet Union, they emigrated to the United States.

After two decades of life in the U.S., the couple moved to Leisure World in Silver Spring. They joined JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program, through which they received care management, food assistance, personal care services, and advance care planning legal support.

Tragically, Vladimir and Tatiana’s daughter passed away after a long illness, and only a few years later, Vladimir suddenly died in a weather-related accident. Tatiana required much more intensive support to continue living independently in her own home without her husband, and her surviving family members wanted to ensure Tatiana was empowered to determine how she lived out her life.

With the help of our pro bono partners at Arnold & Porter, Tatiana updated her advance planning documents allowing her to remain safely at home. And JSSA provided Tatiana with an additional 37 hours of home care each week while her granddaughter and son-in-law made arrangements for her continued care. Today, Tatiana continues to live in her own home with the compassionate support of her family members and JSSA’s dedicated professionals.

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FINANCIALS JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program is largely funded by a generous grant from The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), but the need for home care services to maintain the dignity and independence of the increasingly frail and aging survivor community exceeds even this significant funding.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR PROGRAM FY22 PROGRAM FINANCIALS REVENUE Holocaust Survivor Community Fund

$450,000

Claims Conference

$5,403,728

JSSA Fundraising

$607,780

Other Public Support

$526,455

Total Revenue

$6,987,963

EXPENSES Total Expenses

$6,987,963

Net Income/Loss

—

JSSA’s ability to provide robust services and support to the men and women of our region who survived the Holocaust is dependent on the generosity of individual donors, the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, The Center on Holocaust Care and The Jewish Federations Institute on Aging and Trauma, and generous family foundations, including the Dr. Cyrus Katzen Foundation.

The $2.5 million Holocaust Survivor Community Fund raised by a group of caring and generous donors more than a decade ago, and housed at the Jewish Community Foundation, is almost depleted. Increased support from the Claims Conference and the generosity of individual philanthropists have enabled JSSA to stretch the fund many years beyond what was originally expected.

JSSA has also raised nearly $11.4 million in additional donations over the last eleven years from generous community members.

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This year, the generosity of our community allowed JSSA to raise $200,000 from new and current supporters in response to a challenge grant from the Dr. Cyrus Katzen Foundation. The Foundation’s May 2021 matching grant gave JSSA two years to secure the necessary gifts. An outpouring of support resulted in meeting the entire match by December 2022, seven months before the deadline, for a total of $400,000 in new donations. Thank you to the Dr. Cyrus Katzen Foundation and our many caring contributors for your steadfast commitment to the care of our region’s Holocaust survivors.

Your ongoing support is essential—and deeply appreciated. Your generosity allows JSSA to help maintain the strength, dignity and resilience of our local survivor community while addressing survivors’ increasing needs as they age.

JSSA’s generous donors play an essential role in providing the highest quality of care and sustaining services that empower individuals and families in our community to improve their quality of life. Your support helps us nurture the physical health, mental health, and quality of life of Holocaust survivors as they age.

We extend our deepest appreciation to the many caring professionals who contribute pro bono services for neighbors who survived the Holocaust.

JSSA received funds from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Holocaust Survivor Emergency Assistance Fund, administered by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany for the benefit of Jewish Nazi victims.

GUARDIAN

DEFENDER

The Dr. Cyrus Katzen Foundation Inc

Anonymous

Commonwealth of Virginia

Irving Cohen

Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services

Jerome A. and Deena L. Kaplan Family Foundation The Elno Family Foundation

David Bruce Smith Family Foundation

Patricia Fettmann and Jonathan Ginsburg

State of Maryland

William and Diane Liebman

PROTECTOR Family & Nursing Care Foundation Erwin and Leena Groner June and Marvin* Rogul Wagner-Braunsberg Family Foundation** Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Holocaust Survivor Emergency Assistance Fund

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CHAMPION

ADVOCATE

Amity Club of Washington

Max and Adina Barkinskiy

Anonymous

Willard and Ellen Blalock

Paul and Charlotte Chandler

John Boyd

Congregation Olam Tikvah

Marjorie Fridkin

Lisa DeMarco and Leonard Goldman

Leonard & Linda Greenberg Charitable Foundation

Hope Eastman

Rachmil Jacobovits

Jerome Gabry

Ann Monnig

Dalbert and Nancy Ginsberg

Sidney and Linda Moskowitz

Leon and Marlene Goldschmidt

Michael Phillips

Michael Goldstein and Linda Engel

Elliot and Evonne Schnitzer

Elaine Haas

Ethel and Terry Singer

Martha Hallowell

Carolyn Tager

Jessica Kaplan and Joseph Youcha Olam Tikvah Men’s Club Ronald and Leslie Schreiber

GRATEFUL APPRECIATION TO AN ADDITIONAL 234 CARING CONTRIBUTORS GUARDIAN

$50,000+

PROTECTOR

$10,000 - $49,999

DEFENDER

$5,000 - $9,999

CHAMPION

$1,000 - $4,999

ADVOCATE

$500 - $999

*Deceased **Payment on $250,000 pledge made in previous year.

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JSSA GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS WHO CREATED THE HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR COMMUNITY FUND IN 2013, CURRENTLY BEING MANAGED BY THE JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION. * Gary and Pennie Abramson Family Foundation, Inc.

Greater Washington Community Foundation

Adam & Emily Berman

Jean and Jerald B. Greenspan & The Greenspan Family Charitable Trust

Brian Berman and Dafna Yanovich Casey and Emily Berman

Jerome A. Kaplan and Deena L. Kaplan Family Foundation Inc.

Dennis Berman & The Dennis Berman Family Foundation

Jessica M. Kaplan Joel Kavet

Gary C. and Carol Berman & The Berman Family Foundation

Robert P. Kogod & The Robert P. and Arlene R. Kogod Family Foundation

Kevin & Devorah Berman

Mark Levitt and Kay Klass & The Levitt Foundation

Vicki Berman

Liza and Michael Levy Family Fund

Joshua B. Bernstein

Frederic S. Levy

Lisa Bernstein

Frederic M. Levy & Carolyn Burwell

Norman & Diane Bernstein Foundation

Alan L. & Amy Meltzer

Sandra and Stanley Bobb Family Foundation

Barry and Carol Minkoff

M. Robert and Carol Ann Burman Family Foundation

The Morningstar Foundation

Ronald and Lori Bubes

Annette Moshman

Paul and Gail Chod

Nussdorf Family Foundation Inc.

Robert N. Cohen

Jack Olender & The Olender Foundation

Ryna and Melvin S. Cohen Family Foundation

Joshua B. Rales and the RFI Family Foundation, Inc.

David and Kathleen Colburn & The Colburn Family Foundation

Ratner Family Foundation June A. & Marvin* Rogul

Ralph & Frances Dweck Foundation

Bruce E. and Lori Rosenblum

Elno Family Foundation Inc

Deborah Ratner Salzberg and Michael Salzberg & the Salzberg Philanthropic Fund of The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland

Diana & Michael Epstein Family Foundation Peter & Rachel Federowicz

The Evonne & Elliot Schnitzer Charitable Fund

Diane S. and Kenneth Feinberg

Rhea Schwartz and Paul Wolff

Douglas J. Feith & Pamela Auerbach

Shaare Torah

Norman Freidkin

Keith and Roberta Solit

Cheryl and Roger Friedman

Larry and Barbara Teitel

Melvin & Estelle Gelman Foundation

P. Richard and Cindy Kramer Zitleman

Bruce R. and Donna Genderson Spencer and Rachel Cohen Gerrol Kenneth S. and Cherry Goldblatt

* Space restrictions necessitate listing contributors at the $5,000 +. Every gift to this fund was precious to the Survivors whom benefit from every caring contribution.

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JSSA’S CELEBRATES AND RECOGNIZES THE FOLLOWING PARTNERS: DENTAL PROGRAM Alpha Omega-Henry Schein Cares Holocaust Survivors Oral Health Program Through a partnership with the Alpha Omega-Henry Schein Cares Holocaust Survivors Oral Health Program, JSSA collaborated with 57 dentists to provide oral health services to 117 individuals.

HEARING AIDS Partnership with the University of Maryland Hearing and Speech Clinic This service is expressly for clients who qualify for emergency funds*, enabling JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program to purchase hearing aids at a significant discount on behalf of our clients. Fifteen Holocaust survivors received new hearing aids in FY22.

OPTICAL PROGRAM Dr. Michael Berenhaus, in collaboration with Essilor, provides JSSA’s Holocaust survivors with eyeglasses at no charge. Nine Holocaust survivors were referred to the optical program in FY22.

UNDERWRITTEN HOME CARE SERVICES Family & Nursing Care Foundation and the Dr. Cyrus Katzen Foundation Provides home care services to Holocaust Survivors who have no other means to access this type of care.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR ADVISORY COMMITTEE The purpose is to approve emergency funds and minor home modifications over $350.

ADVANCE CARE PLANNING SERVICES THROUGH ARNOLD & PORTER AND BET TZEDEK Arnold & Porter provides survivors with advance care planning education and clinics through Bet Tzedek’s Holocaust Survivors Justice network. This year, 21 clients executed documents with the firm’s support.

UNIPER The goal of the program is to combine technology with person-centered, trauma-informed care (PCTI) to reduce social isolation for frail, low-income and homebound Holocaust survivors. JSSA is one of twelve agencies participating as a subcontractor to the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies (NJHSA), which was awarded a grant from The Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and The Jewish Federations Institute on Aging and Trauma. *Clients who qualify for emergency funds earn less than $27,180 per year, 200% of the 2022 federal poverty level, and have less than $27,180 in assets.

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Thank you for helping maintain the strength, dignity, and resilience of our local survivor community members during these challenging times.

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Thank you for helping to ensure the men and women who survived the Holocaust living in our community receive the compassionate care required to help them live with dignity and quality of life.

For more information on how you can continue to make a difference, please contact Deborah Peeples, Chief Development Officer at dpeeples@jssa.org or (301) 610-8343.

JSSA HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR PROGRAM The Elsie & Marvin Dekelboum Building 6123 Montrose Road Rockville, MD 20852 240-800-JSSA JSSA.org

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