ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Gideon Taylor, president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, aka the Claims Conference, announced March 2 the allocation of $720 million in funds to more than 300 social welfare organizations globally to support home care and supportive services for frail and vulnerable Holocaust survivors.
“We are proud to announce this significant allocation at a time when these funds are critical, due to the age, poverty and increasing disability of our waning survivor population, and as they also continue to face the ongoing uncertainty and threat of COVID-19,” Claim Conference President Gideon Taylor said. “We know these funds provide vital support during these difficult times.”
Among the organizations in the United States to receive grants is Jewish Family Service of MetroWest NJ, which is a comprehensive social service agency providing mental health counseling and support services on a nondiscriminatory basis. The funds allow JFSMW to provide case management, homecare, emergency financial assistance and socialization for survivors.
“Jewish Family Service of MetroWest NJ is grateful to the Claims Conference for their generous support, which allows us to maintain and enhance the dignity and independence of over 200 Holocaust survivors in our community, as they age. During COVID-19, support from the Claims Conference has been even more crucial, as Holocaust survivors have declined significantly from prolonged stress and isolation. The long-term impact of the pandemic is still to be determined, but the needs of our aging Holocaust survivors are only increasing,” JFSMW Holocaust services coordinator Liz Levy said.
In recent years, during negotiations with the German government, the Claims Conference pressed the urgent need to increase home care funding for Holocaust survivors both in the United States and across the globe. The new allocations are distributed to social welfare organizations in regions where significant numbers of survivors live, to ensure vital services, such as home care, medical care, emergency assistance and food are available for Holocaust survivors in those regions. Funds for these vital services provide a critical lifeline to frail, elderly Holocaust survivors in need around the world, enabling them to live out their remaining days in the dignity that was stolen from them in their youth.
“Survivors will be supported wherever they live, whether war-torn areas or conflict zones, and no matter the obstacle,” Claims Conference Executive Vice President Greg Schneider said. “Whether in the face of the ongoing pandemic, issues of inflation or threat of war, we are committed to providing home care, food and medicine to elderly poor Holocaust survivors. We will continue to fight for more year after year to ensure every survivor has the care they deserve.”
These considerable funds constitute one of the largest allocations from any grant-making organization globally in one year and the largest amount ever allocated for Claims Conference in a single year. In 2021, the Claims Conference distributed $653 million in grants to more than 300 social service agencies worldwide and this year the Claims Conference estimates that the funds, through the grants and partner organizations, will reach approximately 120,000 survivors.
For more information about JFSMW, call 973-765-9050 or visit www.jfsmetrowest.org.
About the Author
