2024 JSSA Holocaust Survivor Program Report

Holocaust Survivor Program Report FY 2023

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Dear Supporters: At the heart of JSSA’s mission is our commitment to supporting our neighbors through their most vulnerable moments with warmth and compassion. For decades, a critical component of that commitment has been caring for and honoring residents of the National Capital Region who survived the Holocaust and rebuilt their lives here.

The dedicated professionals and volunteers of JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program deliver critical health and social wellness services to our region’s survivors and empower these resilient men and women to safely and independently age at home. Our team employs a whole-person approach to assess each individual’s needs and identify the precise resources from across our robust constellation of services to strengthen overall healing and well-being.

In this update, you will read about the profound impact that JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program has on the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of our region’s Holocaust survivors.

In 2023, we increased our capacity to care for individuals who survived the Holocaust so these valued members of our community can continue to live in safety and comfort in their elder years.

The survivors we serve are aging and experiencing increasing health, financial, and social challenges.

And ongoing military conflicts and rising antisemitism are awakening old traumas, causing this fragile community to require more intense levels of care and services. This year, requirements for essential homecare outpaced current levels of philanthropic support. JSSA believes our community has a sacred obligation to ensure survivors receive the care, comfort, and dignity they deserve for the rest of their lives.

Together with your generous partnership, JSSA will ensure the survivors among us receive the comprehensive care that they deserve, especially during this turbulent time.

Thank you for your steadfast support,

Todd Schenk Chief Executive Officer, JSSA

Caring for our Community’s Holocaust Survivors in 2023 This year, JSSA’s team of compassionate professionals and volunteers provided even more intense support for the 385 remaining Holocaust survivors in our region eligible for needs-based services.

Our community of survivors has reached an age that demands more individualized assistance.

And as they simultaneously confront the emotional effect of intense global challenges, each person requires higher levels of care to feel safe and supported.

Avoiding involuntary moves to assisted living or nursing homes is important for survivors of war and trauma, and avoiding institutional care for survivors of concentration camps or ghettos is especially critical. These sensitivities were compounded by this year’s environment of rapidly rising antisemitism and the ongoing wars in Israel and Ukraine—the home country of many local survivors. JSSA’s essential care management and wraparound support services ensure that these individuals can remain in familiar and comfortable environments, surrounded by family and community.

In 2023, participants in JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program received ongoing services including: •

Care management

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Homecare (personal care, homemaker services, nursing assessments)

Financial assistance for medication and medical equipment

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Nutrition and food security support (grocery gift cards, Meals on Wheels)

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Transportation to medical appointments

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Socialization

Pro bono services •

Optical

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Dental

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Hearing

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Advance Care planning

I am writing to express my gratitude and appreciation to JSSA for all the invaluable help that they provide. Their continuous attention, care, and assistance I receive make my life much happier and easier. Most importantly, it makes me feel that I’m not alone but surrounded by friends.

Eliana Rosen* *Names have been changed 3

This year, JSSA launched a new partnership with KAVOD Survivors of the Holocaust Emergency Fund (KAVOD SHEF), an initiative that provides matching grants to help combat food insecurity and meet essential emergency needs of adults who survived the Holocaust.

Holocaust Survivor Program clients enjoyed regular opportunities to connect with their community through social and recreational programs.

My mom wanted to send you a big THANK YOU for the concert she attended yesterday in Rockville. She said it was wonderful and that she liked the musicians, the program, and overall, everything.

There is no doubt that that events like this one boost her and other participants’ mood and well-being.

Rochelle Borek* *Names have been changed 4

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For the second year, JSSA partnered with the Bender JCC to invite Holocaust Survivor Program clients to attend three concerts of the Mount Vernon Virtuosi, an innovative chamber orchestra of exceptional young musicians. Nearly 30 individuals attended each concert with a family member or friend, free of charge.

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JSSA launched the successful online socialization initiative, Uniper, in March 2020. Since then, 127 clients have “toured a museum,” “gone to a concert,” or enjoyed other interactive virtual activities in English or Russian.

Thanks to the activities I do through Uniper, I don’t feel loneliness.

I am energized by the sport classes and always happy to see other participants. And I am inspired and uplifted by the travel videos and classical music. Thank you.

Mrs. Rachel Turay* *Names have been changed

The Uniper program combines technology with personcentered, trauma-informed care (PCTI) to reduce social isolation for frail, low-income, and homebound Holocaust survivors. JSSA is one of 14 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 of North America’s (JFNA’s) Institute on Aging and Trauma.

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With the help of extraordinary volunteers, JSSA delivered Chanukah care packages to every survivor client household to brighten their week with food gifts and holiday items.

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An additional Russian-speaking professional joined the JSSA team of eight bilingual care managers. These staff members allow us to provide improved services and cultural sensitivity to our Russian-speaking clients in additional neighborhoods, including in Northern Virginia. Care managers support clients in their native language while helping them navigate their local communities in English.

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Marina* was born in Moscow in 1938. When she was three years old, her father was conscripted to be an unpaid soldier and sent to the front, leaving Marina, her three brothers, and their mother behind without any income.

Even after the war, Moscow was besieged by poverty.

“After 7th grade, we had to work,” says Marina. “By the time I was 14, I worked full time and studied in the evenings.”

“My mother was sometimes able to exchange her possessions for a potato, and we were lucky to have a potato,” Marina says.

“Nevertheless, we were always hungry.” Toward the end of the war, Marina’s mother wrote to her father: “If you don’t come, we will die from hunger.”

So, Marina’s father, who served as an auto mechanic for the Russian military, fabricated a story about needing specific auto parts and travelled to the small village near the Urals where his family was hiding.

He brought Marina, her siblings, and their mother to Moscow and immediately returned to the front.

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Over the next 40 years, Marina built a life in Moscow.

She continued her studies at university and built a career as an economist. She met her husband, Mikhail*, and they had two sons. Mikhail earned his PhD and practiced first as a veterinarian, in Odessa, Ukraine, and then as a scientist in Moscow.

After the historic Perestroika reforms in the 1980s, Marina and her family decided, “If we don’t move to the U.S. now, then we’ll be too late.” After waiting two years for a visa, Marina and Mikhail moved to America in 1992. “I was 55, my husband was 60,” Marina explains. Nearing retirement age, Marina and Mikhail started over in Rockville – but with hope.

The couple “looked for work right away,” Marina says.

“Mikhail’s English was better so people offered to help him with his resume, but I cried” – the job search was very tough.

That’s when Marina found JSSA. JSSA helped her get an interview for a position in the finance department at Fresh Fields grocery store, now Whole Foods, where Marina was hired and worked for seven years.

After working for nearly 15 years in the U.S., Marina and Mikhail retired but were only entitled to very small monthly Social Security payments and no further federal benefits. They turned to JSSA: “I learned that JSSA helps take care of Holocaust survivors,” Marina remembers. “We became clients, and our lives changed forever.”

Through JSSA’s services, the couple, who are now in their late 80s, receive reimbursements for their medications and medical supplies, and monthly Giant gift cards for groceries. They access Uniper to watch concerts and shows in Russian. Their care manager, whose birth country is Moldova, “is wonderful,” Marina says. “We have a mutual understanding, she’s very supportive.”

“We’re lucky to have JSSA,” Marina explains.

“We feel safer. Without JSSA, our lives would be very different.” *Names have been changed

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Another touchstone of the Holocaust Survivor Program is the frequent home visits that provide clinical and social support to clients.

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Dedicated and caring JSSA volunteers are a critical part of the personal and meaningful wraparound services that we provide to Holocaust Survivor Program clients. The Friendly Visitors program pairs community volunteers with socially isolated older adults who survived the Holocaust for social visits, conversations, and activities.

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As the needs of members of the Holocaust survivor community intensify, JSSA is hiring more staff to continue to provide the frequent visitation required.

In 2023, additional professionals allowed JSSA to reduce Holocaust Survivor Program caseloads to better address the greater acuity of clients.

This increased our capacity to respond quickly and meet the needs of every single client.

Serving 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 Jewish Federations of North America Center on Holocaust Survivor Care.

PCTI recognizes the impact of trauma and encourages personal preference and self-determination in promoting an individual’s safety and well-being.

All Holocaust Survivor Program care managers receive continuous training in PCTI care.

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As a toddler, Deena* fled Vienna, Austria and then Paris, France with her parents. After relocating to the South of France, her father was interned. When the family was reunited, they were again forced to flee to Switzerland and made the arduous journey over the mountains. “That was very adventuresome,” Deena said. Eventually, the family immigrated to the United States in 1950, where Deena has lived ever since.

By 2003, Deena faced significant health challenges and struggled to find quality care she could afford. She found JSSA in the Yellow Pages. “I was immediately treated better at JSSA than at other agencies I had tried to work with. It was wonderful,” Deena said. “JSSA’s philosophy is: ‘What MORE can we do to help?’”

JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program professionals have been supporting Deena and helping coordinate her care for nearly 20 years. JSSA provided Deena with financial assistance to purchase nutritional supplements and pay for doctors’ visits, help in applying for an Austrian restitution program, and gift cards to the supermarket. A member of her care team even offered to help her advocate for her rights as a tenant by accompanying her to a meeting with a property manager who was trying to raise her rent in the middle of a lease. “Once they saw my social worker was going to come with me to the meeting, the landlord suddenly dropped the rent increase,” Deena remembers. “Just knowing that JSSA was going with me to that meeting made me feel more secure. It was a tremendous help.” *Names have been changed

“I am so happy with the care JSSA provides, Deena said.

“JSSA’s philosophy is: “What MORE can we do to help.”

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Whom We Serve

In January 2024, the Claims Conference released a demographic study that reveals there are approximately 245,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors living in more than 90 countries. The median age of survivors is 86, and 20% of this community are over the age of 90, a period of life characterized by an increased need for care and services.

In 2023, JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program served 385 Holocaust survivors living in Montgomery County, Northern Virginia, Prince George’s County, and Washington, D.C. Almost all our clients (92%) are from the former Soviet Union and have limited English proficiency.

Currently, 93% of Holocaust Survivor Program clients are assessed as unable to perform most activities of daily living on their own. Almost all live on fixed incomes and rely on JSSA to help them supplement government services, including food stamps, housing vouchers, governmentfunded homecare hours, and Medicaid.

Helping Survivors Age at Home and Avoid Institutional Care A core component of JSSA’s approach to caring for survivors of the Holocaust is a commitment to helping clients maintain their homes as a critical factor to bolster emotional well-being. Preventing unwanted moves to institutional care is critical to preventing a reoccurrence of historical traumas and also creates savings within the overall healthcare system.

This year, JSSA’s support and excellent homecare services helped 98% of Holocaust survivor clients remain safely living at home despite increasing needs.

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Homecare Needs on the Rise While the number of survivors served by JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program declines as the community ages, their increasing acuity necessitates additional hours of homecare to enable them to continue living independently. And, as demonstrated by the Claims Conference demographic study, we must anticipate that new survivors will continue to enter the program as their changing financial and health status makes them eligible for services.

In 2023, JSSA provided an average of 750 homecare hours per client, up from an annual average of 288 hours five years ago.

New clients served

Average age of Holocaust Survivor Program clients

Percentage of clients assessed as lowfunctioning**

288

50

85

80%

474

380

29

85

80%

FY 2020

470

493

36

86

82%

FY 2021

443

596

23

86

89%

FY 2022

407

620

15

87

93%

FY 2023

385

750

22

88

94.5%

Holocaust Survivor Program clients served

Average annual JSSA homecare hours per client

FY 2018

481

FY 2019

** Low functioning is defined as scoring 11 or greater on the Diagnostic Assessment Form (DAF, an assessment developed by the Claims Conference to evaluate an individual’s ability to care for oneself and safely and independently engage in the activities of daily living). Data reflects Q3 of each year.

This year, JSSA’s support and excellent homecare services helped 98% of Holocaust survivor clients remain safely living at home despite increasing needs.

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Zlata* is a Holocaust survivor who has been forced to relocate and rebuild her life many times. In 1940, when she was only two years old, Zlata’s father was killed fighting for Russia in Finland, and her family was forced to leave Ukraine and resettle in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. As the widow of a Russian military officer, Zlata's mother, “was a very active person,” Zlata remembers. With a combination of tenacity, bravery, and grit, Zlata’s mother, “managed to get an apartment in the center of Tashkent” to share with her whole family including her grandfather and three aunts. But the family almost didn’t get through the literal door: When the other building residents learned of the new Jewish family moving in, they physically barred the entrance.

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Zlata and her family were eventually able to remake their lives in Tashkent. Zlata married and had children there. But when the opportunity to emigrate arose, she chose to start again in Israel. She lived there for nearly 20 years before following her adult sons to America.

When Zlata moved to the National Capital Region, where her oldest son lives and works, she worked for four years as a desk attendant in her apartment building. By chance, a friend told Zlata about Claims Conference compensation and gave her JSSA’s phone number.

“JSSA helps me a lot,” Zlata says. She accesses care through JSSA’s pro bono dental program and receives gift cards to Giant and reimbursements for prescriptions. She also, “has a wonderful care manager” to help her with daily living activities she can no longer manage on her own.

But as a former Ukrainian, Russian, and Israeli resident, Zlata’s sadness about the current wars in Ukraine and Israel is painful. “My family was killed in Ukraine,” she says. “I still have a couple of relatives there, and it’s very dangerous. I am glad we are here,” she acknowledges, referring to herself and her two sons. And about JSSA’s support during this turbulent time, Zlata reflects: “It’s a very good organization. We are lucky that we have help.”

“We appreciate your efforts to support your patients and their families. My mom’s case manager has become an important part of our family. Thank you for helping us provide the best care possible for my mom.”

Cynthia Rollins*

*Names have been changed

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Financials JSSA’s Holocaust Survivor Program is funded by a generous grant from The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) and by the generosity of individual donors, the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Montgomery County, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, The Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and The Jewish Federations of North America’s Institute on Aging and Trauma, Kavod SHEF, and family foundations.

Over the past 12 years, JSSA has raised more than $13.2 million in donations from generous community members to support the Holocaust Survivor Program, and an additional $2.7 million was raised for the Jewish Community Foundation’s Holocaust Survivor Community Fund.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR PROGRAM FY23 PROGRAM FINANCIALS Revenue Expenses Total Revenue

$8,433,943

Total Expenses

$8,433,943

JSSA Fundraising* $751,889 Other Public Support** $572,378 Holocaust Survivor Community Fund $450,000

Claims Conference $6,659,676

Direct Client Assistance $5,942,381 Salaries & Benefits $1,425,598

*Includes designated and unrestricted funds raised by JSSA. ** Includes Support from the State of MD, Commonwealth of VA, JFNA, and Montgomery County.

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Program Staffing and Support $2,491,562

The need for homecare and other comprehensive services to maintain the dignity and independence of the increasingly frail survivor community continues to grow and exceeds even this significant funding.

The wraparound support JSSA provides to older adults who survived the Holocaust helps ensure they enjoy the same long life expectancy as other older adults in our region. This means a continued commitment to raising the required funds, and JSSA has pledged to continue to meet the need for high levels of support and care to these individuals in their last decades. Our ability to continue providing robust care and services for this vulnerable population depends on increased support from the Claims Conference and the continued commitment of caring individuals who recognize and honor this sacred promise.

As we plan to address the different ongoing and emergency needs that will allow men and women who survived the Holocaust to age and live out their lives safely and successfully at home, we appreciate the partnership of the broader community in maintaining their strength, dignity, and resilience.

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JSSA Partners and Supporters JSSA’s generous donors are essential in providing the highest quality of care and sustaining services that empower individuals and families in our community to improve their quality of life. Thank you to our many caring contributors for your steadfast commitment to nurturing the physical health, mental health, and quality of life of Holocaust survivors.

Guardian ($50,000+) Commonwealth of Virginia Paul & Annetta Himmelfarb Foundation, Inc. The Dr. Cyrus Katzen Foundation Inc Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services State of Maryland Protector ($10,000-$49,999) Family & Nursing Care Foundation Helen Chilewicz Luksenburg Trust KAVOD-Shef and Seed the Dream Foundation Susan Ruth Korsower Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies (NJHSA) June Rogul Robert I. Schattner Foundation Robert H. Smith Family Foundation Wagner-Braunsberg Family Foundation Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Holocaust Survivor Emergency Assistance Fund Defender ($5,000-$9,999) Anonymous Irving Cohen The Elno Family Foundation Patricia Fettmann and Jonathan Ginsburg Jerome A. and Deena L. Kaplan Family Foundation Shaare Torah Men’s Club

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Champion ($1,000-$4,999) Anonymous Kevin and Devorah Berman Anita Wolke Brooks and Kenneth Brooks Howard and Carol Cohen Mark Drever Steven Feldman and Anne-Marie Deutsch Steven and Heather Friedkin Marilyn Freidkin Jeffrey and Arielle Grill Olam Tikvah Men’s Club Julie and Dennis Ratner Laurence Rosenfeld and Jennifer Weiss Marc Samuels Elliot and Evonne Schnitzer Teena and Dave Wajsgras

Advocate ($500-$999) Agudas Achim Congregation Amity Club of Washington Charity Foundation, Inc. Anonymous Samuel Baer Joseph and Shelley Brodecki Paul and Charlotte Chandler Jerrold Cohen and Frieda Achtentuch Maritza Friedman Elinor and Michael Flyer Suzanne Hollander Drew and Joanna Hudson Lori Ingber Jonathan and Robin Klugman Gerald Skalka and Sandra Kronsberg Arleen Lustig Jessica and Jamie McIntyre Sam and Pam Melamed Charles Miller

Richard and Carol Breitman Francis Brogan Congregation Olam Tikvah Matthew Dent Rachel Dinkes and Max Hoffman Elaine Feidelman and Irwin Shuman John and Leslie Friedson Diane and Scott Green Adam and Janel Herman Jessica Kaplan and Joseph Youcha William and Bobbie Kilberg James and Lynn Klein Leslie and Lawrence Kline Alan and Agnes Leshner Sonya Livingston Kelly Mistretta

James and Susan Pittleman Ann Ratner Gary Ratner and Ellen Krieger Francine Rossen Aaron and Alisa Rulnick John Schmelzer and Naomi Licker Tom and Joan Schaumberg Leslie Schreiber Mike and Lindsay Steiner Ben and Debbie Teicher Willard Tom and Natalie Lichtenstein Robert Tracy and Martha Gross Bernard and Janyse Weisz Philip and Jenni West

Supporter($250-$499) Judy Back Vivian and Raymond Bass Willard and Ellen Blalock Ann and Mark Birns

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JSSA celebrates and recognizes the following partners and caring professionals who contribute pro bono services for neighbors who survived the Holocaust: 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 50 dentists to provide more than $50,000 worth of pro bono oral health services to 45 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 and 42 follow-up appointments in FY23. *Clients who qualify for emergency funds earn less than $29,160 per year, 200% of the 2023 federal poverty level, and have less than $24,980 in assets.

“I would like to express my gratitude for your help in paying my medical bill. I appreciate everything that JSSA does so I can live a decent life.

Thank you so much once again.”

Tsilia Eisenberg* *Names have been changed OPTICAL PROGRAM Harnessing the resources of the Essilor Vision Foundation, three local opticians offer eyeglasses at no charge to Holocaust survivors who qualify for emergency funds. This program was started by Dr. Michael Berenhaus, and 35 Holocaust survivors were referred to the optical program in FY23.

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

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR ADVISORY COMMITTEE The dedicated members of this committee approve emergency funds and minor home modifications over $350. Members of the committee who are also survivors generously share their stories and life experiences with the community.

ADVANCE CARE PLANNING SERVICES THROUGH ARNOLD & PORTER Arnold & Porter provides survivors with advance care planning education and clinics. Since the start of the program in 2019, 93 clients have executed documents with the firm’s support.

“My 95 year-old father, Mr. Sol Kraska*, and I are both very grateful to the Holocaust Survivor Program for arranging his hearing aid appointment and for the hearing aids themselves. My father said the new hearing aids work flawlessly and much better than his old ones. Thank you to Dr. Lisa Rickard and the Holocaust Survivor Program!” *Names have been changed 19

Your generosity helps ensure the men and women who survived the Holocaust living in our community receive compassionate care to help them live with dignity and quality of life.

Thank you.

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 20