Jewish Family & Children’s Service’s Paul Freedman, executive director, and Amy Dorfman, director of geriatric services, are searching for financial resources that will enable the agency to maintain services to area Holocaust survivors. Photo by Jill Huber
March 04, 2008
Support services provided by the Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Monmouth County to the area’s Holocaust survivor population might be scaled back unless the agency can find a way to match part of a 2008 $87,967 grant from the Conference of Jewish Material Claims against Germany.
The conference grant consists of several funding components, including $33,772 that comes directly from the German government and that requires a dollar-for-dollar match, said JF&CS executive director Paul Freedman.
The agency uses that portion to provide home healthcare assistance and a variety of other support services for Holocaust survivors who live in Monmouth County.
But the clock is ticking, said Freedman: The agency was notified of the funding amounts in December; if it is unable to match the grant allotment within the next few months, JF&CS must notify the Jewish Family Service of Central New Jersey in Elizabeth, which is the grant administrator.
At that point, the grant will be redistributed to other state agencies or to another community in the United States, Freedman said.
There are approximately 400 survivors in Monmouth County, most of whom live in the county’s western region, said Amy Dorfman, JF&CS director of geriatric services.
JF&CS will try to contribute about $15,000 toward the match by allocating some of the money raised at its annual tribute dinner, along with funds generated by the agency’s Asbury Park thrift shop and funds from the agency’s unrestricted resources, Freedman said. The agency’s budget for 2008 stands at $1.2 million.
In addition, Freedman and the agency staff will continue to research grant opportunities that might yield money to complete the $33,772 match. To date, however, they have not been able to find a grant that could be used for this purpose, he said.
“To the best of my knowledge, there are no grants out there now that can be used for this kind of match for this segment of the population,” said Freedman. “But we’re still researching various foundations to see if any of them can come up with a portion of the funding that we need. We’ll conduct research into every potential source of investment.”
The 2008 funding amounts from the conference are approximately the same as those issued to the agency in 2007.
Last year, JF&CS contributed approximately $15,000 from its own budget to the match, and received the other $15,000 amount from the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County. However, the federation was unable to provide the matching funds this year due to budgetary shortfalls, Freedman said.
JF&CS’ decision to reach out to the community for financial support was endorsed by federation executive director Howard Gases, who said, “I encourage members of the community to contribute to this worthy cause.”
Reducing services
The grant requirement for matching funds did not come into effect until three years ago, he added.
In recent years, approximately 70 percent of the grant money was used to provide home health assistance to members of the county’s aging Holocaust population, said Dorfman.
Other grant components include funds for emergency medical situations, emergency payments for utility bills and rent, and such socialization events as Passover seders and Hanukka parties.
“We’ve always needed a strong sense of commitment to the Holocaust survivors who live here,” Dorfman said. “They are not a ‘pass-through’ community. There has to be a great sense of caring for homebound survivors, who make up a frail, elderly population that desperately needs supportive services.”
The overall grant money has helped pay for such survivor services as case management; counseling; medical care that included helping clients acquire walkers, wheelchairs, medical alert buttons, and prescription medicines; the maintenance of a kosher meals-on-wheels program; and direct transportation to medical appointments and consultations, Freedman said.
However, if a funding match is not found, the agency will have to begin reducing services in June, he said.
“If service cutbacks become a necessity, we’ll prioritize our services and try to make it a less traumatic experience for our clients,” said Freedman. “The last to go will be the home healthcare assistance. But it’s going to be difficult to tell our Holocaust survivor clients that we can’t come up with our share, and it’s going to be particularly difficult for those who are living on fixed incomes.”
And although the agency is a service provider, it may have to rely on the generosity of the community to maintain its services, he added.
“Hopefully, there are some generous individuals who might be able to help us,” said Freedman. “The need for the Holocaust survivor services exists right now, and it’s not going to go away. We have to find a way to continue to help all those we have pledged to serve.”
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