Who you will help

Accompanying the Elderly is a program that supports elderly individuals, many Holocaust survivors, with critical services by trained social workers: medical care, nutritional support, social activities, basic home repairs, and a particularly heart-warming feature: volunteer visits. Long-term volunteers visit the elderly in their home at least twice a month, delivering food packages, socializing with the individual, and monitoring their physical, emotional, and overall well-being. The volunteers' commitment is unique - many have been with the program since it started - and offer elderly participants consistent and long-lasting friendships that substantially reduce their feelings of isolation. These home visits also enable the program manager to identify participants' unique needs, tailor their care, and arrange additional home maintenance and renovations where needed.

Your donation will fund

Many elderly individuals in the program live in severe conditions - with little or no income, their homes are in utter disrepair: major wall and ceiling cracks, windows that can't open or close, pests such as rats, no temperature control, recurring mold and more. Accompanying the Elderly covers the cost of renovations for the participants, dramatically improving their health & safety, dignity, and quality of living. In 2021, the program completed almost 50 home improvement projects.

Location

Accompanying the Elderly is run by The Jaffa Institute, serving Tel Aviv-Yafo's low-income Jaffa Daled neighbourhood.

Meet Sofia

Sofia, a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor originally from Russia, lives in a studio apartment in a low-income neighborhood of Jaffa. A very resilient woman, Sofia is wheelchair-bound in the home that she has lived in for the majority of her adult life - a third-floor walk-up apartment. Since becoming immobile a few years ago, she has never left her house. Sofia's care worker identified her dire mobility needs to the Accompanying the Elderly program, and the program immediately funded a staircase-lift and compatible wheelchair. Last year, Sofia went outside for the first time in two and a half years. She breathed the fresh air, appreciated the garden, and returned home, with her prized freedom back in her life. One of Sofia's favorite aspects of this program is the weekly connection with a Russian-speaking volunteers. As soon as they connect, Sofia is transported to happy memories of her childhood before the Holocaust, sharing stories, recipes, and music that remind her of her beloved family.