JSA at 10 and counting

SERGE HABER

As the Jewish Seniors Alliance approaches its 10th anniversary, it is an approximate time to reflect on the many JSA accomplishments to date. Our new mission statement says: “The Jewish Seniors Alliance enhances the quality of life by raising awareness of senior issues and providing outreach, advocacy and peer support services.” What does this mean in practice?

We are facing a rapidly growing number of seniors, ranging from people in their 80s and 90s to a younger generation of seniors in their late 50s and 60s. Some of the younger set don’t actually consider themselves seniors and often they are the children of parents who are 70-plus. The issues these groups face are different, yet fall within the work that JSA does.

Canadian seniors have the best health record in history. Many in our senior population are financially secure. However, more than 20 percent are in trouble. Some of us are OK because we still have our families, friends and support, but what happens if we lose that support? What about seniors whose family lives out of town or are so involved with their own lives that the seniors’ needs are perhaps unintentionally ignored? In these cases, we become a statistic: a senior alone in need of support, now part of the 20 percent.

We use words like single, isolated, lonely, abused, marginalized, impoverished, disabled, perhaps exhibiting the early stages of dementia and other problems to describe those in trouble. I talked to a 92-year-old friend recently, who said, “Tell me, Serge, why am I here? Why am I still living? My friends are gone, nobody needs me. Why does God not take me? There are so many younger people who are dying every day, and here I am, alone and suffering.”

In our Jewish community we estimate that more than 600 individuals are part of the 20-percent group. JSA’s outreach and peer support services try to help them. We try to keep 70-80 percent of seniors in good health and functioning well by providing preventive services.

Prevention is not a very popular word, however. Our governments and society respond as best as they can to acute situations but, often, prevention is left to Mother Nature. But the current situation is not sustainable. According to the government, there is not enough money to maintain the health-care and Pharmacare systems at the current rate of use.

Scandinavian countries dealt with this problem decades ago by applying – among many other reforms – an increased focus on preventive health care. Initially, it was more expensive but the number of acute cases has dropped and health care has become more sustainable, albeit not without some challenges.

Given the above, perhaps we can better understand what JSA is doing and why.

• Our outreach program offers the JSA-Snider Foundation Empowerment Series (spring and fall forums), an annual seniors directory, Senior Line magazines three times a year, and our updated website. All of these programs provide information, education and prevention tips that allow a large percentage of healthy, active seniors to cope with the challenges of aging.

• Advocacy is important: JSA ensures that our community provides a number of necessary programs that are affordable. Our advocacy program is unique in that it has reached out to the non-Jewish community for several years. We are dispelling the myth that all members of the Jewish community are wealthy, and that poverty doesn’t exist. As a community, we may have more institutions that provide care, but besides that, we are no different than any other.

JSA has partnered with several other groups, such as the Council of Senior Services Organizations of British Columbia, the B.C. Retired Teachers Association, B.C. Centre for Elder Advocacy and Support, B.C. Coalition of People with Disabilities, Vancouver Cross Cultural Seniors Network, B.C. Health Coalition and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. As well, Gloria Levi, as an active member of JSA’s advocacy committee, has spearheaded a grassroots organization called Integrated Care Advocacy. With representation from other advocacy groups throughout the province, this group will urge the politicians who may form the provincial government after the May 2013 elections, to include in their policies the idea of integrated home-care support services for elders.

• JSA’s Peer Support deals with those 20-plus percent of seniors in need of serious help. Through peer counseling, Shalom Again, weekly phone calls, weekly home visits, drop-in information and referrals, as well as many other programs still being developed, we try to help those who need it most. The ultimate goal is to bring individuals back into society so they can meet and make new friends, and to give them an opportunity to enhance their senior years.

We are training seniors to help seniors. This is a double mitzvah. The goals of our caring include helping seniors learn new skills, keep busy and be involved in the community. The senior receiving help is looked after by a caring, trained senior who can relate to the person he/she is helping.

All of these accomplishments are the proud work of JSA’s executive, board and many volunteers. Our board is comprised of seniors ranging from their late 50s to late 80s. Former social workers, nurses, teachers, businesspeople, doctors, lawyers, accountants and others devote their time, heart and expertise to managing and developing JSA’s innovative programs. We have acquired a superb reputation, and we have clearly demonstrated that aging does not mean we are over the hill. In fact, aging can be a significant asset when we, as seniors, give of ourselves and help others.

JSA has initiated and implemented a number of successful programs that have had a huge impact for seniors in the Jewish and non-Jewish communities. Our work could be accomplished by government, private or professional institutions, but at a much greater cost. We are living in austere times and don’t know when or how long they will last. Therefore, we need to attract the attention of younger people, as well as that of seniors, to show them that what JSA is doing will benefit them 10, 20 or more years down the road.

We hope that this is the beginning of a new decade in which Jewish Seniors Alliance will shine, producing even more programs of outstanding quality that will help our entire Jewish community, now and into the future.

Serge Haber is president of Jewish Seniors Alliance (jsalliance.org).

^TOP