Eleven Canadian social service agencies that provide services to elderly victims of the Holocaust will see their allocations from the Claims Conference triple in 2015 compared to 2014.
The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, known more commonly as the Claims Conference, announced last week it will allocate $18.6 million (all figures US) to Canadian agencies, up from $6.4 million in 2014. Most of the funds are slated for home care, but they can also be used for medical care, food and transportation.
Agencies in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver and in smaller Jewish centres, including Halifax and Windsor, are expected to benefit from the allocations.
Among the recipient agencies are Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto; Jewish Family & Child, Toronto; Jewish Family Service Agency, Vancouver; Jewish Family Services of Ottawa; Jewish Family Services, Edmonton; and the Cummings Centre, Montreal. The Cummings Centre administers funds to Jewish Child and Family Service, Winnipeg; Jewish Family Service Calgary; and the Windsor Jewish Federation, among other agencies in Canada.
A first-time direct allocation of $1.1 million will be made to Jewish Family Services of Edmonton.
“All Shoah victims should be able to receive the help and support that they need to live the rest of their lives in dignity, after having endured indescribable suffering in their youth,” said Julius Berman, president of the Claims Conference.
“I think it’s very encouraging,” said Toronto lawyer Keith Landy, one of two Canadian representatives on the Claims Conference board.
“It’s so important for the dignity of survivors as they reach their golden years,” Landy said. “The money is not simply going to be left for posterity but will provide a meaningful assistance for survivors.”
Holocaust survivor Sidney Zoltak, a member of the Claims Conference board of directors, said, “The substantial increase for needy Holocaust survivors for home care was obtained after [Claims Conference negotiators] explained to German government representatives that the elderly survivor, when he or she is moved from their home, experiences additional traumatic shock.
“I believe the additional funds that were made available to these survivors will enable them to experience a calmer and more comfortable life,” Zoltak said.
Canadian agencies are expected to make their own pitch for funding, based on the number of survivors they reach as well as the services they provide, he said.
“Funding for 2015, to social service organizations working with survivors is based on the projected unmet needs that such organizations have reported to the Claim Conference,” a Claims Conference statement said.
The Claims Conference estimates there are between 14,000 and 16,000 Holocaust survivors in Canada, though recent census data suggests the number is lower and dwindling, Landy said.
The allocation for home care includes a variety of services that allow Holocaust survivors to remain in their own homes. Home care services include light housekeeping, cooking and even help getting dressed and with hygiene.
The Claims Conference represents world Jewry in negotiations with European nations for compensation and restitution for the Jewish victims of Nazi persecution, along with their heirs.
The increased allocations in 2015 resulted from negotiations with Germany, which has agreed to provide $1 billion to be allocated by the Claims Conference through 2017.
Total Claims Conference distributions in 2015 are expected to reach $365 million, a 21 per cent increase over 2014. Holocaust survivors in 47 countries will benefit from the allocation.
In addition to German government funding, the Claims Conference is funded through the proceeds from recovered Jewish properties in the former East Germany, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the government of Austria and from a settlement with Swiss banks.
The allocations announced last week are separate from compensation payments distributed to individual victims of the Holocaust. n