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Over the years, we have added services as needs have emerged and as our population of elders has changed. There is not much that we don’t do when the need arises. Although we function, in part, as a traditional social service agency, we strive to be much more—we embrace the spirit of family and community.
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Group Programs
Many members of Project Ezra suffer from social and emotional isolation, which leads to a lack of intellectual stimulation.
We consider it one of our primary functions to give these individuals an opportunity to interact within a supportive
Jewish community.
We provide our elders with small and large group experiences on a regular basis. Our daily small groups
create an atmosphere of warmth and laughter that typify Project Ezra.
We offer groups in Arts and Crafts, a Men's Group, a Contemporary Issues group, a Wellness group and a Literary group.
We are always in the process of forming new groups as the needs arise. These groups also become a place to celebrate
birthdays, happy events, friendship and community.
Our Havurah at the Baruch Housing Projects has been meeting for fifteen years and we have a group at a local home
for the aged to stimulate the cognitive abilities of elders who are too frail to reside in their own apartments.
Most participants in these small groups are not mobile and therefore picked up and taken home by the Project Ezra
van which is equipped with a hydraulic lift for wheelchair accommodation. In addition, we have a car and a staff
member to facilitate the pickups of the less frail. We refer to these groups as "Havurot" or small communities.
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Peoplehood Events
Approximately every two weeks, we have outings to host synagogues in the tri-state area. On the
average, sixty to one hundred elders join us for a peoplehood day. Our hosts,
often families, meet us and spend three or four hours with our elders. There is
music, entertainment (some of our elders love to sing and dance) and a
delicious meal.
Our hosts and our elders share their common roots and history
and that is the glue that keeps these events going from year to year. We have
been visiting some of these middle-class synagogues for as many as twenty-eight
years and the friendships that develop help our elders feel less lonely.
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We work with many schools, synagogues and temples in the greater New York area.
On principle,we visit Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and
Reconstructionist communities to accentuate and celebrate the pluralism of
today’s Jewish life. These visits are mutually satisfying. Our
elders are obviously needy of these contacts. Less obviously, but true nonetheless, our hosts obtain a
welcome glimpse into the past, and sadly, a not as welcome glimpse into their
own future.
These inter-generational programs are meaningful to both generations and, after the
initial awkwardness has worn off, there is always genuine warmth and sharing
that takes place.
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At two of these synagogues we have begun a pen pal program.
Hebrew school children correspond with our elderly throughout the year and then
meet together for a luncheon and program. At one day school in Manhattan, a group
of ten elders visited, on a monthly basis, with a fifth grade class, to talk about the past, discuss the
present and affirm our Jewish future.
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Our elders come back from these luncheons and trips elated and energized. It is truly
incredible to see the transformation of their mood. The synagogues and school
groups that participate say that they experience that same "high".
Many of our clients leave their homes only when we take them out. We therefore try to make
these experiences as social, warm and caring as we can. We are firmly committed
to the integration of this frail and marginal population with other Jewish
communities and see that as one of our most valuable and important functions.
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Russian Population
A few years ago, we began working with a growing community of elderly immigrants from the former Soviet
Union, a community that has not yet been integrated into the larger American
Jewish community. These sisters and brothers from the former Soviet Union live
on minimal Social Security pensions in federally funded housing. Many are
educated but lack the English language skills needed to allow them to
confidently navigate their new world.
We recruited and formed two groups for approximately 100 Russian Jewish elders and have become their
corridor to America. We have an active calendar of trips to places that are
attuned to their cultural interest. We have visited the Jewish Museum, the
Museum of Jewish Heritage, as well as the array of New York museums, and have
picnicked at Alpine State Park. Our Russian-speaking facilitator and the Ezra
staff hold two weekly classes to teach Jewish history and discuss current
events. Our goal is to provide these elders with the heritage they were denied
in their land of birth and to strengthen their sense of Am Yisrael.
We hold monthly cross-cultural coffee klatches for 25 to 35 people who meet informally and
develop social relationships and bond with each other. Our American elders who
speak English with a Yiddish accent are brought together with our Russian
elders who speak less English but usually have Yiddish as a second language.
This crossover allows both groups to form a unique connection. Over coffee, tea
and cake we reinforce the human elements that unite people. We are looking
forward to expanding this new program.
One of the most important contributions we have made is to introduce our Russian newcomers, through our
frequent peoplehood events, to the American Jewish community in all its diversity and glory.
They know little about Conservative and Reform Judaism and have never heard of Reconstructionist.
Our trips truly expose them to the communities that their children will be active participants in.
They’re always full of questions and insist on learning more about the
spiritual Jewish roots in America.
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Transportation
We are the only project on the Lower East Side that owns its own van with a hydraulic lift for
wheelchairs. We also have a car and a driver for those elders with limited mobility.
Old age necessitates that we break the walls of isolation and loneliness and create a community of warmth.
In addition, before the High Holidays we arrange several trips so that our elders can visit the cemeteries
where their loved ones are buried.
We frequently enable our frail elders to visit their family members who are in hospitals or institutions
so that the bonds of family can continue.
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Social Work
Project Ezra provides a broad range of services, both professional and personal, for the elderly in our community.
Our social workers work closely with our elders, especially those who are fragile and homebound. They provide services including assessment, evaluation, crisis intervention, ongoing support and counseling. They make referrals to appropriate government and private agencies when indicated and continue to advocate for their clients who are in nursing homes. No one is abandoned.
We also serve as an information and referral network for senior citizens and their families throughout New York City.
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Direct Relief
Project Ezra maintains a substantial direct relief program. We give small monetary grants to individuals whose Social Security benefits are insufficient to last the entire month. This program is constantly growing as more and more people find that there is a project that will help individuals with food without intruding on their dignity and privacy. We are also serving the growing community of Soviet Jews who live in the area and are no longer served by the immigration agencies because they have been here for some time.
Project Ezra maintains a food pantry in our office where elders know they can come to obtain extra food items. This pantry allows us to provide food to an ever-increasing number of people in need. We receive shipments of non-perishable food from friends who own food stores or have access to food, and from synagogues and schools. There is always tuna fish, sardines, coffee, tea and pasta for our elders, in brand new plastic bags. Every few weeks we supplement the monthly income by distributing these bags.
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Homemaker Program
As longevity increases, so do the needs of the elderly population we service. We have a homemaker program to provide housekeeping services for those who are too frail to clean their own apartments and care for their physical needs. Our homemakers often enable these people to remain independent and at home.
The homemaker program has grown to serve the needs of a segment of our elderly population. We have four full-time homemakers who work with clients - cleaning apartments, doing laundry and offering some personal care, conversation and whatever else needs to be done.
Our homemakers have been with us for many years because our wages are higher than other agencies and because we respect the dignity of the work they do. They have become like family members to the elders they serve, and every Christmas, at a luncheon we give to honor them, we thank them for their commitment and contribution to our community.
We firmly believe that one's quality of life is incredibly enhanced
by the freedom and dignity of living in one's own apartment if one wishes
to do so.
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Volunteers
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Project Ezra is committed to matching volunteers with our clients. These volunteers engage in social visits on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Frequently, these visits lead to rich and meaningful relationships.
Our volunteers visit the homebound and help us, above all, to bring the more frail elderly to our frequent community get-togethers. We train and work with all our volunteers.
In 1983 we formed a relationship with a German volunteer organization under the auspices of the Lutheran Church. “Action Reconciliation for Peace” sends 150 young Germans worldwide who want to “bear witness” to the deeds of their grandparents. We have a new volunteer every year.
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These young Germans work intimately with many of our elders, especially our Holocaust survivors, to help make their lives warmer and more meaningful. The personal and mutual impact the volunteers and the elders have on each other continues long after the volunteers return home. We have a ninety seven year old survivor living in a small apartment. The walls of her apartment are adorned with pictures of family members who were wiped out during the Holocaust. The only other picture that stands out on her wall is that of her German volunteer who returned home several years ago, but continues to keep in constant touch with her. Throughout twenty years these young Germans, with their commitment and sensitivity, embody the best of a new Germany and indeed they represent the cream of Europe.
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Food Package Distribution
Just before Jewish holidays we distribute food packages to the elderly. The packages are delivered with the help of individuals, youth groups, and in many cases, whole families working together.
Before Passover, our volunteers—teen and adult—help collect, sort and deliver hundreds of food gift boxes that contain everything from a whole chicken to desserts for the eight days of Pesach. The holiday is expensive to observe, and we lighten the economic burden for our elderly who are on limited Social Security pensions.
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The Burial Fund
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We have set up a special burial fund to enable every person who lacks the means, to be buried in dignity, with a small stone on his or her grave. Our elders represent the best of the working class that America has produced. Many did not have the ability to set up their own burial fund, and burials today are notoriously expensive. We remember our elders and set up a stone one every gravesite that needs one.
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