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April 21, 2006
A real home away from home
Louis Brier provides a true sense of community for its residents.
VERONIKA STEWART
In her smallish but comfortable room at the Louis Brier Home and
Hospital, resident Sylvia Hill, 94, president of the residents'
association, told me how the idea for the home for the elderly came
to its founders over a game of poker.
Hill has lived at the Louis Brier since 1992, when the addition
of a second floor allowed for more residents. She says the Louis
Brier is a "home away from home" to her.
"The Louis Brier is very much in contact with the community
and the community is very much in contact with the Louis Brier,"
Hill asserted. "A lot of progress has been made bridging the
gap between the residents and the community."
Hill said before the project began, founder Louis Brier, whose wife
was not Jewish, gave the condition that the home must also accept
non-Jewish elders, a tradition the home has maintained. She said
that of the 218 residents at the facility, she estimated about 20
per cent were not Jewish.
"We've got non-Jewish people in the home, but you can't tell
the difference," Hill said. "We all mesh and interact
very well together."
In the foyer of the Louis Brier, comfortable plush chairs line the
entrance and residents' guests and families come and go often, the
receptionists often greeting them by their first names.
Hill said the atmosphere at the home is one of togetherness.
"We are a family," she said. "When new residents
come, we take a welcome basket to make them feel at home."
As president of the residents' association, Hill also said she would
often visit other residents in the hospital if they fell ill, and
attend funerals of residents who had died. As of late, however,
for health reasons, she has not been able to make her hospital trips.
"We do the things that families do," Hill said. "You
would go to the funeral of a family member."
Hill went on to praise the politics of the residence, calling it
an "open-door home. The executives are very accessible and
anyone can go and talk to them. It is an absolutely democratic home,"
she said. "The Louis Brier is one of the best. You can't beat
it."
As well as a kosher diet, Hill said the home offers the best in
on-site medical care to the residents, including a podiatrist and
an eye doctor who visit the residence.
"There's no need that they don't cater to," she said.
Zev Klein also calls the Louis Brier home. Although apparently not
always impressed by the food, Klein said the home lets residents
keep their dignity and offers a sense of Jewish community.
"I never thought about it, but they never turn me down [with
any requests]," Klein said.
Klein has been at the Louis Brier for almost four years. He said
he enjoys singing Hebrew songs and listening to the afternoon concerts.
Klein also said the home reminds him of his roots.
"When I was a child in Eastern Europe, there was a home like
this," Klein said. "All the people were sitting in a corridor
in front of the shul and, when I sit here, it reminds me of childhood,
when I lived in this environment."
He said the home offers a variety of activities to its residents
and that, while he might not enjoy playing cards like other residents,
he can go listen to music instead.
"The Louis Brier gives connection to the community," Klein
said. "It has activities for almost everybody."
Ralph Rosenberg, 96, has been a resident at the Louis Brier for
the past eight years, but has more than 28 years of history there.
As leader of the shul, he has been witness to almost 30 years of
transformation.
"I can tell you there have been a lot of changes," Rosenberg
reminisced. "Some good, some bad."
Rosenberg is a humble but prominent figure around the residence.
Hill gave him lengthy praise for his long-time contribution to the
shul.
"They call me cantor, they call me rabbi, they call me a lot
of things," Rosenberg said. He said that, although he has been
the resident leader of the shul for the past eight years, he was
a regular in the community long before that.
"When I was in Richmond, I used to come to daven for them on
the High Holidays and at the beginning of the month, you know, the
new moon. I see I accomplished something."
Rosenberg said that while he may not be as young as he once was,
he still loves his work at the home.
"You tell me where you can find a 96-year-old who still prays,"
he said proudly. "My voice is cracking, I'm getting rusty,
but still, you know, I can do it. I'm surprised myself. My favorite
thing is to serve people. Although I am an old man, I can still
help them."
Rosenberg said that to him, helping people is one of the key tenets
of Judaism.
"I'm sure God does not want us to praise him so much. What
does He want? Be nice to your fellow man," Rosenberg shrugged.
"That's what I'm doing, and I enjoy it."
The Snider Campus for Jewish Seniors currently supports just over
280 residents: 94 in extended care, 107 in intermediate care and
17 in special care at the Louis Brier, as well as approximately
65 people in the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Residence.
For the past 60 years, the Louis Brier Home has been a "home
away from home" for countless seniors in the community, like
Hill, Klein and Rosenberg. To honor that contribution, the home
is throwing itself a birthday party on May 7 at 7 p.m. The Chai
Folk Ensemble, a group of more than 40 youth, will dance and sing
traditional Jewish songs at the event, which takes place at the
Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage on Granville Street. The performance
is sold out.
Veronika Stewart is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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