Adeliya* is an 87-year-old Holocaust Survivor from Ukraine. At only six years old, she fled from Khartov to Kazakhstan to escape the Nazis. She moved around several times over the years to live with family members; at one point, she had eight family members living in one room for a period of time.
She moved to Atlanta in 1976, and recently encountered some financial struggles. Adeliya lives on social security payments of only $695 a month, with only $2,000 in her checking account and no other assets. To help ensure Adeliya’s physical health, JF&CS arranged for her to receive Kroger gift cards quarterly through the Holocaust Survivors Support Fund (HSSF) to help her purchase healthy and nutritious food. Recently, she started receiving home-delivered meals several days a week, as cooking had become difficult for her.
An unexpected event occurred for her in late August of 2021 that needed immediate attention. Her air conditioning had broken, and she needed a replacement immediately. The sweltering Georgia heat with no air conditioning is brutal, and can cause major health issues like dehydration and overheating.
But JF&CS did not give up, and insisted on finding a way to get Adeliya her air conditioning so she could stay healthy in the Georgia heat. Emergency assistance funds from the HSSF was provided, and Adeliya was able to live in a comfortable and cool home all summer long.
The Holocaust Survivor Services at Jewish Family & Career Services (JF&CS) offers compassionate and specialized care to an underserved population. With social programs like Café Europa, and One Good Deed to help the emotional and social needs of our Survivors, to more practical needs such as counseling, case management, reparations assistance, and in-home services, JF&CS serves as a leading support service for Holocaust Survivors in Georgia and ten other states in the HomeCare regional program.
If you know of anyone who may need our assistance and services, please contact us today. You can also make a difference by donating to our Holocaust Survivor Services program in somebody’s honor. Without help from our donors and our community, we would not be able to tell these stories.
* Names and other identifying factors have been changed to protect the Survivor’s identity