JewishCare

JewishCare’s web site is headed by its slogan – “The Caring Heart of Sydney”

Family Violence – “Intervene” says Brogden

Former NSW Liberal Party leader John Brogden spoke to an all-male audience in Sydney on White Ribbon Day – a United Nations campaign to stop domestic violence against women.

Dr John Eisman, before introducing Brogden, said that domestic violence was all around us and we have “to take a stand” so that the people who commit realise “it’s not OK”.

Brogden barred no holds in his address to the 100 professional and business men at the breakfast in the Vibe Hotel.

He told his very personal story of how domestic violence had impacted on his own family and the devastating effect it had had on his mother. Matters became exacerbated when his father became an alcoholic and life for the Brogden family was a living nightmare. He spoke openly about his attempt to commit suicide

At the end of his address, the former political leader made a strong plea for intervention.

He said that no-one should be shy in coming forward to intervene if and when they became aware of incidents of domestic violence. He said: “In life you can do one of two things. You can watch something go by you, or you can intervene. I look back on the physical violence and the incredible mental manipulation my mother experienced and the effect that it had on all of us as a consequence. Intervention is always the hardest thing.” He said that intervening in a family or friend;s marriage is very difficult. “You can be guaranteed of a couple of things. Your intervention will usually not be welcome and it could destroy a relationship or at least harm it for a long period of time. Having lived the life I’ve lived, I would ask each of you, if you know of somebody amongst your family, friends or community who is being violent against a woman, don’t just think of upsetting him…think of helping the children and think of intervening to stop them living a tortured life. I can’t tell you hard it is to be a child experiencing this. Intervene..you’ll upset people you may not be successful but it’s our responsibility as men  to ensure that other women don’t live this tragedy.”

The event was organised by JewishCare.

 

 

 

26 Years of Caring for the Visually Impaired

One of Sydney’s JewishCare’s oldest Friendship Clubs is the Lapid group for the vision impaired…and it has served the community for 26 years.

The Club meets each Monday at the B’nai B’rith Parents Home in Princess Street Rose Bay for a chat, a bite to eat and to be entertained by musicians and interesting speakers.

Long-time president of Lapid, Lilly Skurnik who has also written two autobiographies and won a number of awards, the latest being NSW Achievement Award for Health and Wellbeing during 2009 Seniors Week, welcomed the guests and thanked the volunteers for their support.

 

Mental Care celebrate Rosh Hashana

Sydney’s JewishCare held their Rosh Hashana functions for Mental Health and Aged Case Work programs. 

80 people attended the Mental Health program’s Rosh Hashana lunch at Emanuel Synagogue with Rabbi Ninio officiating. The event featured the second public performance of the eight member SHIRU SHIR Choir who sang a selection of Hebrew songs for the occasion. This event has grown substantially since the first Rosh Hashana event some 2 years ago when only 15 people were in attendance.  JewishCare’s Vice President Tony Breuer welcomed the crowd and confirmed the organisation’s commitment to this important program that is making such a difference the lives of so many members of the community who have mental health issues.

For the first time The Aged Case Work Rosh Hashana lunch was held outside the Eastern Suburbs. 30 people attended the event at Masada school with the students providing numerous musical items and Rabbi Krebs addressing the attendees about the tradition of serving apples and honey for New Year.

Home Support for Survivors

New funding for home services for Holocaust survivors has become available for Sydney’s JewishCare.

 

The Claims Conference negotiates with European governments including the German Government for an allocation of funds to support services for survivors of the Holocaust .  Recent successful negotiations have resulted in an allocation of approximately $270m for services in 46 countries around the world.

For some years JewishCare has been receiving funding from the Claims Conference to provide Home Support for Holocaust survivors under the Tikvah Program.  The recent announcement has not only meant an increase in funds but provides some certainty for the next three years.  Home Support means that survivors who are living at home receive a number of hours of support to assist with showering, meals, cleaning and community access.  It also includes case management such as referral for allied health services.

As the funding is targeting the neediest of Holocaust survivors the funding to JewishCare comes with a new set of guidelines setting out who is eligible and what reporting is required on the expenditure of the funds.

People who apply need to consent to their information being provided to the Claims Conference, establish their status as a victim of Nazism, be assessed for their need for services and meet strict financial criteria.  JewishCare is required to collect all this information including a financial assessment.  The guidelines do mean that some survivors are ineligible due to this means test.

JewishCare is currently providing Tikvah Home Support to over 140 survivors and there is no waiting list for eligible survivors.   Phone 1300 133 660 to find out more.

Russian Lives in Sydney Documented

The Lord Mayor of City Clover Moore officially launched The book ‘ I love Life’ which documents the lives of a number of Russian migrants.

Allan Vidor President of JewishCare thanked The Lord Mayor for the grant that enabled the book to be written and printed. He noted the significant contribution that this group of migrants have made to our community and how important it is that this has now been documented.

Clover Moore said ‘This small book marks a big step forward for the Russian-Jewish community in our City. For the first time, your stories are being told, and told in a way which will reach not only Russian-speakers, but our English-speaking communities as well’

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