Engaging our Union County Holocaust Survivors with the Community and Bringing the programs and services into their homes.
Our services to Union County Holocaust Survivors are extensive and they include: Case Management, The Toby Goldberger Kosher Meals on Wheels Program, Home Care, Nursing and Mental Health. These wide gamut of services continue to be available to our Survivors through generous funding from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, and other funders.
Café Europa- Bi-Monthly Socialization Programs
Holocaust Survivors at JFSCNJ enjoy a hybrid Café Europa socialization program, twice a month, in the aftermath of Covid. We have some Survivors who come in person to the JFSCNJ Halpern Building in Elizabeth, have a special Glatt Kosher lunch, and enjoy musical entertainment. Other Survivors can participate in Café Europa through the comfort of home by joining virtually through a computer, tablet or Uniper, through our Ross Family Virtual Senior Center. Our devoted volunteers deliver a special Glatt Kosher lunch to Survivors at home and these Survivors thrive on the one-on-one visitation from the volunteers. Due to a special grant from the Jewish Community Endowment Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, we were able to purchase a Meeting Owl, technology that allows us to offer our Survivors a hybrid approach for Café Europa.
We are grateful to the Wilf Family Foundations who supplement sponsoring the lunches that greatly enhance the program.
Special Programs
Russian Programming is also available to our Survivors. Usually, these programs are coordinated in collaboration with Cranford Senior Housing and include light refreshments and musical entertainment. We also have supportive programs of Solidarity in times of crisis. Each year, during the summer, we celebrate Holocaust Survivor Day. This day recognizes our Survivors, their resilience and their legacy. We celebrate with a special lunch and musical entertainment.
Caregiver Programs
Caregivers are an integral component of our team. In consultation with our family caregivers, we offer regularly scheduled caregiving programs focused on topics such as mindfulness and meditation, yoga, holiday cooking, and how to get a good night’s sleep. These sessions are led by experts in the field and take place virtually. This programing helps our caregivers meet others in similar roles, feel less isolated, and reduce anxiety often associated with a caregiving role.
Pro Bono Dental Program at The Rutgers School of Dental Medicine for Holocaust Survivors
The Jewish Federation of Greater Metro West NJ, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, and Dr. Howard Drew partnered to open the Rutgers clinic for free Pro Bono Dental Services for Holocaust Survivors.
Our Union County Survivors who have participated in this program are happy with this free dental service and return for follow up appointments.
The dental facility is a State-of-the-Art facility located in Newark, NJ, and offers the following professional outstanding care.
Contact Marinelly at 973-972-4959, to schedule an appointment.
Debbie Rosenwein, LCSW, drosenwein@jfscentralnj.org, or Greg Yucht, LSW, gyucht@jfscentralnj.org, are also happy to schedule an appointment and arrange for your transportation.
The Ross Family Virtual Senior Center
Uniper, a program developed in Israel that brings classes, a video library, our own programming and the ability to call family members, directly into the Survivor’s home. The Ross Family Virtual Senior Center, Uniper, is used by 15 Survivors and available in several languages, such as Russian.
Volunteer Programs
In collaboration with the JFSCNJ Volunteer Department, and a grant from the Grotta Fund for Older Adults, volunteers from local synagogues, spearheaded by Congregation Israel, Springfield, have launched a Friendly Visiting Program for our Survivors.
Survivors enjoy monthly visits from their Friendly Visitors, usually around holiday time, and receive a basket of special goodies. This program will be expanded to Anshe Chesed in Linden and other synagogues in Union County. We are grateful to Jewish Federation of North America and Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ for providing funds for this program.
Thanks to funding from Kavod Shef in partnership with Seed the Dream Foundation, we can provide emergency financial assistance, in the areas of rent, medical, homecare, home repairs, vision, hearing aids, dental, food, utilities, transportation to our Survivors.