Mr. Vinokur is just one of the hundreds of thousands of Jews who managed to escape to the United States before and after the war. Selfhelp was created to assist these devastated men and women and to help them build new lives. Our mission has expanded, but Nazi victim services remain at the core of our programs, annually providing comprehensive case management, home care services, and other assistance, from housing to enrichment programs, to more than 4,000 Holocaust survivors and Nazi victims. Projections based on the age and demographics of the more than 60,000 Nazi victims currently residing in the New York metropolitan area now indicate that the number of survivors requesting assistance will to continue to rise through 2007 and that as this vulnerable group reaches extreme old age, there will be a sustained need for our services at least through 2020.

Mr. Vinokur, for example, speaks little English and needs help with chores, shopping, and appointments. As a resident in one of Selfhelp’s buildings, he is served by on-site Selfhelp staff, who arrange for the support he needs to maintain his independence. Julia, his Selfhelp caseworker, was assigned to him because she speaks Russian, and she in turn secured the services of Raisa, a Russian-speaking home attendant, for two to three hours each day during the week. These two dedicated women have given Mr. Vinokur, who is widowed, companionship and a sense of community. Raisa helps him select ingredients for the traditional Ukrainian soups he likes to cook; and Julia has encouraged him to participate in social activities and exhibit his paintings in the senior center art show.

Other Selfhelp clients need greater levels of counseling, emergency assistance, and help with claims for compensation and restitution. In FY 2003, Selfhelp provided more than 33,000 hours of social services to Holocaust survivors and Nazi victims. In recognition of our expertise, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany this year selected Selfhelp to administer its new Austrian Holocaust Survivor Emergency Assistance Program here in the United States and in Canada.

Perhaps the most pervasive need is for social support in the face of the isolation of old age. Victims of the Holocaust depend more than ever on Selfhelp to act as their “last surviving relative,” as our founders promised. We have developed a variety of programs to fulfill that pledge, including Jewish heritage programs, concerts, outings, writing workshops that help survivors deal with painful recollections, and old world “Coffee Houses” that bring back happier memories.

Over 60 percent of the Nazi victims and Holocaust survivors we serve are 80 years and older. As the challenges of advancing age are added to the burdens of their past, many need our help to maintain their dignity and independence. Selfhelp’s Nazi Victim Services Program provides compassionate care through enhanced case management services, and most importantly, the comfort of knowing Selfhelp will be there for as long as we are needed.