We
Provide Aid
To Vulnerable Jews

The pandemic has forever changed care-work, and in response we have innovated our approach. In Latin America, JDC helped more than 40 nursing home professionals from ten countries adjust their facilities to the pandemic. Through a series of online webinars organized by JDC, these professionals collaborated, learned, and shared experiences. Argentina’s largest Jewish nursing home introduced technology to help elderly residents remotely visit family and participate in activities. In the FSU, JDC launched JOINTECH, a program that ensures real-time care and the alleviation of chronic loneliness and isolation faced by elderly Jews by distributing specially outfitted smartphones designed to connect them to caregivers, online programs, and community volunteers.

Compassionate, dignified care for lonely and isolated elderly Jews is a hallmark of JDC’s work across the former Soviet Union (FSU), but also in Central Europe, Morocco, India, and beyond. In the former Soviet Union, we provide this support primarily through a network of Hesed social welfare centers. Over 80,000 elderly clients, many of them Holocaust survivors, receive life-saving food, medical, and social support. And we deliver tens of millions of home healthcare hours across the FSU each year to help the most vulnerable seniors with cooking, cleaning, personal hygiene, and other essential services they need to live with dignity.

At the heart of Jewish communities are children and families who are living on the margins, lacking enough food, heat, or healthcare. JDC takes a holistic approach in our support for thousands of children and families, addressing their material and social needs while providing opportunities to forge relationships and strengthen their ties with Jewish life. Such care is especially critical for families with children with disabilities who face varied needs and special initiatives for inclusion in Jewish communities.

The pandemic pushed thousands of Jewish families into economic distress and left those already struggling with even greater challenges. Many families lost their jobs overnight and lacked savings. In response to this crisis, JDC, in partnership with philanthropic leaders and foundation partners – including the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, the Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation, the Maimonides Fund, Genesis Philanthropy Group, and several U.S.-based Jewish Federations – and Jewish communities worldwide deployed a humanitarian relief program to aid these growing numbers of needy. The initiative, launched in April 2020, not only sustains these families but often strengthens their participation with local Jewish communities. Aid is currently provided to 1,600 Jewish households a month, impacting an estimated 6,000 people in 12 countries in Europe – including Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Greece, and Bosnia – as well as Jews in Argentina, Morocco, and Tunisia.

The pandemic has forever changed care-work, and in response we have innovated our approach. In Latin America, JDC helped more than 40 nursing home professionals from ten countries adjust their facilities to the pandemic. Through a series of online webinars organized by JDC, these professionals collaborated, learned, and shared experiences. Argentina’s largest Jewish nursing home introduced technology to help elderly residents remotely visit family and participate in activities. In the FSU, JDC launched JOINTECH, a program that ensures real-time care and the alleviation of chronic loneliness and isolation faced by elderly Jews by distributing specially outfitted smartphones designed to connect them to caregivers, online programs, and community volunteers.