When an Israeli Organization Becomes Like Family

With the estimated 250,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel growing older and less mobile, home visits for them have become more crucial.

“They were left alone in the world during the Nazi rule, and we believe very strongly that it is not right for elderly Holocaust survivors to be left alone again,” says Dr. Natan Kellermann, project director of Amcha: The National Israeli Center for Psychosocial Support of Survivors and the Second Generation.

“Sometimes survivors don’t have family to help them. In such cases, Amcha acts like the family member who makes sure they get what they need,” Kellermann adds.

Through support from UJA-Federation of New York, Amcha caseworkers made 20,000 home visits to more than 1,000 clients this past year. Amcha provides home visits to survivors as well as therapeutic and recreational programs in 14 centers throughout Israel. The organization makes it possible for elderly survivors to live in their homes for as long as possible, especially important for Holocaust survivors who associate institutional care with an approaching death.

“A caseworker offers emotional help for someone who needs to talk about the past and the present, or who has nightmares or chronic mourning,” Kellermann explains.

During recent crises in Israel, such as the intifada, caseworkers also brought comfort to traumatized homebound survivors.

“As Holocaust survivors reach frailty,we have a moral obligation to care for those in need,” says Julia Zeuner, chair of UJA-Federation’s Caring Commission Task Force on Aging. “As their mobility and independence diminishes, they become more isolated and desperate.”

One client, a woman born in Poland, recently told Amcha, “Before turning to Amcha and receiving home treatment, I thought I would end up in a mental hospital, or that I would commit suicide.”