Get ready for it:Needs of aging Holocaust survivors to skyrocket, but what about the needs of our elderly; grandparents, parents?

According to this article small print on forms is only hard to read by aging holocaust survivors and they are the only ones that seem to have problems suffering from hypertension, heart disease, aches and pains and get this last one arthritis.

Seeing or reading this type of article makes me as angry as hearing about the Race Card issue.  Honestly what person hasn't had to deal with this same issue themselves or  helping someone or a  family member out at one time or another filling out forms etc., because they couldn't understand something?  What makes their care anymore important?


Hate to burst their bubble but many of the Elderly and even some not so elderly are suffering from the above mentioned and much more that is also mentioned in this article.  When was the last time you saw a commercial or ad stating that Elderly Whites needed help because they where having troubles paying their medical, housing, food bills?  shera~

NGO head says "small print" makes it "impossible" for survivors to understand which state funding or benefits they are entitled to.

The social and economic needs of Israel’s Holocaust survivor population are expected to increase dramatically in the next four years, according to a study being released Sunday.

According to the study, undertaken by the Meyers JDC Brookdale Institute on behalf of the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel – the official state body responsible for providing survivors with social welfare benefits and assistance – Israel is currently home to some 208,000 victims of Nazi atrocities – compared to 233,000 in 2009. On average, 12,800 survivors die each year, or 35 per day.

The study highlighted that by 2015, the need for financial assistance and medical aid by this population will have risen sharply even though the number of survivors will have dropped by 30 percent, to 145,000.

Today, roughly 33% of the country’s Holocaust survivors – or 60,000 individuals – are considered “needy.”

Their increasing needs are clearly linked to their advanced age, said the researchers, noting that 3% of the survivors are now under the age of 70, 47% are between 70-80, and 50% are over 80.

By 2015, more than twothirds will be aged 80-plus.

“Our data show that in the coming years, mainly due to aging factors, the needs of Holocaust survivors will greatly increase,” said Elazar Stern, the foundation’s chairman.

“Awareness of the needs of survivors has increased significantly in recent years, but our job is to make sure that this will be translated in a way that will ensure the needs of all survivors are met in the future.”

According to David Silberman, co-founder of the nonprofit organization Aviv Lenitzolei Hashoah (Spring forHolocaust Survivors) and an expert on survivors’ rights, the problem facing Holocaust survivors has less to do with a lack of funding than with the difficulty of understanding which state funding or benefits they are entitled to.

His organization estimates that roughly NIS 250 million earmarked to help Holocaust survivors goes unclaimed each year.

The Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel says that the number of survivors applying for health and welfare benefits has increased by 160% in the past five years – with some 60,000 people receiving assistance today, compared to only 23,000 in 2005.

As well as looking at aging, the study examined the health of survivors. Among the medical issues that were most prevalent, the study found that 57% reported suffering from hypertension, 39% had some type of heart disease, 40% suffered from chronic neck and back pain, and 26% had arthritis.

The researchers also found that roughly 10% of survivors are completely reliant on the help of others to perform basic daily tasks and are eligible for National Insurance Institute nursing assistance. That figure is expected to rise to 14% in 2015, and to 25% in 2025, the researchers noted.

In addition, the study also examined the emotional and social conditions of survivors already receiving assistance from the foundation. It found that 40% feel lonely, and a similar percentage find it difficult to leave their homes.MORE JP