The Claims Conference supports Tzedaka Foundation’s Holocaust Survivor Assistance Program, designed to meet the diverse needs of vulnerable and aging Nazi victims. Since the financial crisis of 1999-2002, the state health care system has virtually collapsed and cannot provide the necessary social services to care for the elderly. Retirement pensions are very low and often inadequate to meet basic needs, and many seniors saw their life savings vanish during the crisis in the previous decade.
To combat these conditions, Tzedaka Foundation’s Holocaust Survivor Assistance Program provides comprehensive social services that focus on the following services:
:: A program that purchases at discounted rates, or acquires through donations, specific medicines that have increased up to triple the cost due to inflation and currency devaluation. The agency has established a unique national community pharmacy that fills monthly prescriptions for thousands of Jews living below the poverty line. These medications are distributed throughout social welfare assistance centers throughout the country so that Nazi victims may easily access the medications they require.
:: A program that subsidizes the cost of medical care because the Argentine public health system is inadequate to meet Nazi victims’ needs. This program includes clinical and complex medical testing conducted by expert physicians, specialized medical treatments, hospitalization, surgical interventions, medical care, and gerontology services.
:: An emergency assistance program that provides short-term help to ease immediate financial burdens. Categories of assistance often include rent to prevent eviction, medical care, medical products such as wheelchairs and hearing aids, funds to prevent utility shut-off, clothing needed for the winter, food, and funeral expenses.
:: Homecare for infirm and homebound Nazi victims. The program includes trained nursing staff and in-home caregivers who assist with medication management, shopping, meal preparation, diet control, light household chores including laundry, personal care, hygiene, and companionship. Caregivers also help with errands, and allow otherwise isolated Nazi victims the ability to attend medical appointments and social events.
:: For those who need assistance with food, the agency provides food debit cards to ensure daily nutritional and dietary needs are being properly met.
:: Financial assistance for transportation so that Nazi victims can visit medical facilities, take care of urgent errands, and partake in the various programs offered at Tzedaka Foundation headquarters.
The Holocaust Survivor Assistance Program also offers supportive counseling, psychological treatment, case management, friendly visitation and socialization programs.
Asociacon Israelita de Sobrevivientes de la Persecucion Nazi (Sherit Hapleita) was established in 1952 to provide social support for Nazi victims and to transmit the legacy of the Shoah to future generations in Argentina. With Claims Conference funding, Sherit Hapleita provides a Café Europa socialization program for Nazi victims that is run in coordination with Tzedaka Foundation.
