Getting a vaccine is a huge sigh of relief, and not only for the person who gets the dose. It’s also an enormous comfort to family who’ve stayed away to keep a cherished relative safe. It’s even more significant when the beloved family member is a Holocaust survivor,
like Hela.

Hela, 94, lived with her family in Warsaw, Poland, until she was 13 and sent to a concentration camp. Most of her family perished in the Holocaust. Hela now lives in Brooklyn, and thanks to the assistance of Selfhelp, a UJA partner, she received her first vaccine dose on January 16 at Canarsie High School. She’s scheduled for her second dose in February. 

Hela let her social worker know she appreciates this support during the crisis. “I’m so thankful for what you did for me,” she says.

Hela’s granddaughter couldn’t agree more.

“It means the world to me to know that my grandmother got the vaccine,” says Hela’s granddaughter. “I might finally be able to see her in-person after a year apart. I’m grateful she’s protected in her old age and Selfhelp staff is looking out for her, being her eyes and ears when she’s in her weakest years.”