PROGRAMS
Geriatric Services
I was born in Romania. After the Nazi invasion in 1941, my family and I were forced into a ghetto. After six long months of terror and deprivation, we were loaded onto a train bound for Austria. Once we reached our destination, I, along with hundreds of other Jewish women and girls were made to dig deep trenches for underground piping. Toward the end of the war I was taken to Tieresenstadt, and miraculously survived there until the camp was liberated in 1945.
From the years of physical labor, and horrible conditions, I suffer from severe osteoporosis, arthritis, and lower back problems. Each step I take is with great difficulty, and I unfortunately never had the means to receive a much-needed spinal surgery. My younger years of suffering just never seem to disappear.
Along with my physical limitations comes the obvious consequence of not having the basic income needed to cover my expenses. I manage day to day, but dread the thought of the unexpected. The thing that always brings peace of mind is knowing that I have Pesach Tikvah. They are always ready and available to assist me and have come through in times of crisis. In the past, they've helped cover emergency medication, as well as food supplements. They are always just a call away.
From the years of physical labor, and horrible conditions, I suffer from severe osteoporosis, arthritis, and lower back problems. Each step I take is with great difficulty, and I unfortunately never had the means to receive a much-needed spinal surgery. My younger years of suffering just never seem to disappear.
Along with my physical limitations comes the obvious consequence of not having the basic income needed to cover my expenses. I manage day to day, but dread the thought of the unexpected. The thing that always brings peace of mind is knowing that I have Pesach Tikvah. They are always ready and available to assist me and have come through in times of crisis. In the past, they've helped cover emergency medication, as well as food supplements. They are always just a call away.
Pesach Tikvah's Emergency Assistance for needy Holocaust Survivors program is made possible through funding from the Claims Conference. In collaboration with the United Jewish Organization, Pesach Tikvah can provide financial, medical, and personal assistance to needy holocaust survivors. Pesach Tikvah assures that basic needs such as food, rent money, clothing, and specialized medical equipment are made available.
Sunday is the best day of my week. That's the day when David from Pesach Tikvah comes by to visit. Each week we work a little more on the 1,000-piece puzzle David bought me. I can't wait to finish it, and frame it. I value my special relationship with David - and he says that he is benefiting too!
Pesach Tikvah coordinates a group of devoted volunteers who make a minimum of one weekly visit to the home of a local senior. The volunteers chat with the senior, check on their welfare, run errands for them, and assist them with hobbies or other special interests. This unique program is designed to help seniors maintain independent living.
I was still a teenager when I was taken by the Nazis, first to Bergen Belsen and then to Auschwitz. Now, at the age of eighty-three, I am not well physically, and the old fears continue to haunt me. Thanks to Pesach Tikvah, though, my life has improved. Today, I have a home health aide and get regular visits from a nurse. I look forward to the visits from the Pesach Tikvah social worker and lovely volunteer ladies. Once again I am enjoying life.
This Pesach Tikvah program is designed to ease the pain that many Holocaust survivors still endure. Yiddish speaking counselors provide services in the homes of these seniors, assisting them to overcome the traumas that still haunt them. Experts in the mental health field are consulted, as needed, to help deal with depression, and the long-term effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, Pesach Tikvah works closely with family members and key people in the community to provide emotional and practical support to the survivors.
Living five thousand miles from my aging parents is hard. Often, when I'm changing the light bulbs in my own home, I can't stop but wonder what happens when a bulb burns out at my parents' home. Is my father with his recent knee replacement supposed to get up on a ladder and change the bulb? Should my mother, with her advanced stage of arthritis attempt to do it? If a simple thing like changing a light bulb can be so challenging for my parents, I can only imagine how difficult the more complex tasks are for them to navigate. Many of these haunting feelings have passed now that I was introduced to Pesach Tikvah.
Pesach Tikvah sends in a Community Captain to my parents' home on a regular basis. The Captain assists my parents with the things they find difficult, and keeps an eye on their well being. Pesach Tikvah has brought me such peace of mind!
Pesach Tikvah sends in a Community Captain to my parents' home on a regular basis. The Captain assists my parents with the things they find difficult, and keeps an eye on their well being. Pesach Tikvah has brought me such peace of mind!
The Supportive Community is an innovative program made available through the generous support of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc. to seniors of all ages. This membership-based program provides assistance to older people through a Community Captain. The Captain helps with everyday tasks which older people find challenging such as dealing with service providers, sorting mail, arranging for visits from volunteers, or simply lending a listening ear and offering friendly advice. While visiting them at home, the Captain also screens for depression, signs of dementia, and unexplained sudden changes in behavior. The Captain is also available at times of crisis, and can make referrals to the Pesach Tikvah treatment team.
The Program receives financing from the Claims Conference (The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany) and also for the Emergency Assistance Program for Nazi Victims at the direction of the United States District Court supervising the lawsuit In Re: Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation (Swiss Banks), and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Holocaust Survivor Emergency Assistance Fund.
