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Program
for Holocaust Survivors & Families Jewish Home &
Aging Services
6710 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322 (248) 661-2999 For
Many Survivors, the Holocaust has not ended. The Program for Holocaust Survivors and Families is a multi-faceted program developed to meet the psychosocial and emotional needs of aging Jewish Holocaust survivors and their families. During the Holocaust, 6
million Jewish men, women, and children were murdered. The survivors of
the Holocaust continued new lives in new lands. Survivors worked, raised
families, and have led productive lives. However, for many, the memories
of their painful and tragic losses have continued to haunt them. Many have
had difficulties with anxiety and depression as a result of their
overwhelming and tragic experiences. Frequently, the children of survivors
have also been affected by the experience of their parent(s) during the
Holocaust. As
survivors are aging, issues related to ill health, fear, isolation, and
loneliness can become more difficult and complicated for Holocaust
survivors and their families. Aging
– The Unknown Challenge
“My
father had to be put on a feeding tube because he couldn’t swallow.
He kept asking me - Why are they doing this to me?
They’re starving me like the Nazis did at Auschwitz.”
For
Holocaust survivors, aging presents an enormous challenge. Although
they have survived Hitler and the Nazis, they are now struggling with a
new obstacle, the aging process. Many are, now, widows and widowers;
they feel isolated, depressed, alone and anxious. Each
individual’s ability to cope with the challenges of illness and aging is
complicated by the suffering, loss and deprivations they experienced
during the Holocaust. As
a result of the tragedies they suffered, survivors are typically more
anxious and depressed than the general population. Current political
turbulence may serve to intensify anxieties and fears about the future. “
I’m not scared for me, I’m scared for my children & grandchildren.
I don’t want them to go through what I went through” The
Program for Holocaust Survivors and Families is designed to address
and support the psychosocial and emotional needs of survivors using
traditional, as well as, non-traditional methods. Each program is
designed to create a safe haven where survivors are able to relax, share
their fears and anxieties, be counseled by a psychotherapist and provide
encouragement to each other. Program
History In 1993, The Detroit Medical
Center and Sinai Hospital began an innovative program to meet the
important social, cultural, and emotional needs of survivors and their
families. That program has evolved into the multi-faceted Program for
Holocaust Survivors and Families. In 2003 the Program
for Holocaust Survivors & Families moved to its new home at the
Jewish Home & Aging Services. The Program for Holocaust Survivors and Families offers a variety of
services to the survivor community that are listed below. For further information,
please contact: Dr.
Charles Silow, Director,
Charles
Silow, PhD, a clinical psychologist, provides individual and family
psychotherapy sessions for survivors as well as for children of survivors.
Dr. Silow specializes in working with Jewish Holocaust survivors, as they
age. A
child of survivors, and fluent in Yiddish,
Dr. Silow is accepted by the survivor community as someone who understands
what they have suffered and how it continues to affect them.
This
exceptional traveling exhibit portrays black and white photographs with
brief biographies of Holocaust Survivors primarily living in the Detroit
metropolitan community. Approximately 300 survivors have been photographed
and interviewed for this ongoing project that seeks to honor the lives and
histories of Michigan’s Holocaust survivor community. Portraits
of Honor participants travel to the annual State of Michigan Yom
Hashoah (Holocaust) Commemoration in Lansing where they give testimony
to our State Legislators. To
participate in Portraits of Honor, contact Dr. Charles Silow at
(248)-661-2999.
This
upbeat café provides a festive, freilich,
Jewish atmosphere where survivors meet monthly to listen to Jewish music,
have a nosh, sing & even dance. It is a place where survivors
can forget their worries, troubles and concerns and relax with friends.
Café
Europa is held the first Monday of every month at 1pm. Come join
us at the Jewish Community Center, Jimmy Prentis Morris branch in Oak
Park.
Second
Sunday of every month, 7pm at Fleischman Residence in West Bloomfield and
on Second Monday of
every month, 1pm at the JCC in Oak Park. “
I remember seeing this film when I was a child in Poland.
I am so happy to be able to see it again here”.
The
small group setting is a safe,
sheltered place for survivors to share their fears, concerns and painful
memories. The ravages of aging and political turmoil often intensify
survivors’ feelings of anxiety, isolation and stress. Facilitated
by Dr. Silow, who is fluent in Yiddish,
the sessions can be held in the mother
tongue of the participants, enhancing their ability to freely express
themselves. “I
am all alone, I’ve lost my husband and my son.
It is good to come here and talk with others.” Sessions
are held weekly at the JCC/JPM in Oak Park at 10:00 am every Monday. Sessions
are held every other week at the Jewish Home & Aging Services
Fleischman Residence, 6710 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI. For
more information, call the Program
for Holocaust Survivors & Families
at 248-661-2999, or email: csilow@jhas.org.
Ongoing
consultations
with health care facilities and professionals are conducted regarding the
psychological needs of Holocaust survivors in their care. Dr. Silow
is, also, available as a consultant when a Holocaust survivor is having
difficulty adjusting to a hospital or institutional setting. Educational
outreach programs
are provided to help train health care professionals regarding the unique
psychological issues and needs of survivors and their families. The
Program for Holocaust survivors and Families also coordinates care
with and serves as a liaison to multiple community agencies serving the
Jewish Holocaust survivor population. For more information, call the Program for Holocaust Survivors & Families at 248-661-2999, or email: csilow@jhas.org. Click here to make an Online Donation |
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