TORONTO — Low-income Holocaust survivors will benefit from a substantial increase in funding that Circle of Care has received from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference).
Founded 50 years ago, the Claims Conference has negotiated for the return of and restitution for Jewish-owned properties and assets confiscated or destroyed by the Nazis; obtained funds for the relief, rehabilitation and resettlement of Jewish victims of Nazi persecution; and administered individual compensation programs for Holocaust survivors.
Arnold Foss, director of communications and administration at Circle of Care, said the purpose of the funds is to provide supplementary care such as meals on wheels, transportation and home services.
He is trying to reach out to people who may not know about the program. “We have about $1 million (US) from the Claims Conference and $100,000 from UJA Federation [of Greater Toronto],” he said. “We’re now serving about 400 people, but I’m sure there are more people that could use our services. I [estimate] about 13,000 Holocaust survivors live in Toronto. I don’t know how many of these meet our requirements, but I do want to reach out.”
Applicants must disclose where they were born, where they lived before and during the war, and prove that they earn less than $23,000 a year.
“Once they are deemed eligible, their application is forwarded to a service consultant who determines which services fit their needs,” Foss said.
He said he also has emergency assistance funds for such services as dental and eye care from the Hungarian Gold Train settlement, aimed solely at Hungarian Holocaust survivors.
The Hungarian Gold Train was a train of approximately 24 freight cars containing personal property that was seized, confiscated or stolen by the Hungarian government from Hungarian Jews. The property was taken into custody by the United States Army in May 1945.
The settlement was reached in 2005 in Florida, after a class-action lawsuit was brought by Jewish Hungarian Holocaust survivors against the United States government regarding the handling of the property on the train.
The agency has an advisory committee made up of Holocaust survivors that oversees the application process. “These people are so knowledgeable about Holocaust history it amazes me,” Foss said. “If someone tells them something happened on a specific date, they always know if the date is correct.”
He said there are many low-income seniors, “and we want to meet their needs.”
He has received thank-you letters from seniors taking advantage of the program, he said, “who told me that without this assistance, they would not be able to remain at home.”
One client has dementia and lives with her daughter and son-in-law. “She receives three hours a week of personal care through the North York Community Care Access Centre. The family is on a fixed income and purchasing extra hours of care is difficult,” Foss said. “The family has expressed the need for additional relief, as the stress of caring for their mother has become overwhelming. The fund provided the family with relief and the necessary help the mother needed.”
Receiving these funds is not a privilege, but a right, he said. “The program has been successful in supplying care and keeping people at home. They are still surviving, and we are helping them survive at home.”
For more information, call 416-635-2860 and ask for the Holocaust program.
