A safe place to grow old

MICHELLE DODEK SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

When every day is Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) for you, the home for the Jewish aged is a safe haven. The last camps were liberated almost 60 years ago and the Jewish community is keenly aware that many of the witnesses to Nazi brutality are aging. The Louis Brier Home and Hospital fills a niche in providing special care to the many residents who are Holocaust survivors.

Patricia Nitkin, head of therapeutic recreation, culture and volunteer services, describes many special needs of survivors and the efforts of the staff at the Louis Brier to ensure compassionate care. Ongoing in-service training, support for families who are often guilt-laden, having put their survivor parents into a home, as well as integration with Jewish schools are some of the ways in which survivors and their families have their needs met.

Volunteer programs are an integral part of meeting the requirements of the population in the Louis Brier. Projects such as the intergenerational program run in conjunction with local Jewish day schools provide a chance for residents to share and teach the youth, while the younger generation gets to connect with the past. Although the program does not involve only Holocaust survivors, they make up the bulk of the participants.

Marilyn Berger, Judaic head of Richmond Jewish Day School, co-ordinates their intergenerational program, in which each child visits with the same person each month to record a biography from an 11-year-old's perspective. The biographies are then made into a book.

"The entire process produces healing for everyone because the survivors know that their history is not forgotten and students learn so many unforgettable lessons," said Berger. "The interaction between the students and residents is absolutely wonderful."

Other programs geared toward Holocaust survivors are the Yom Hashoah ceremony, lectures on the Holocaust and videos. Survivor-specific programming is not very successful. This generation, according to Nitkin, is not used to being open with their personal thoughts and feelings. Israel-related programs are not specifically geared toward survivors but most of the Louis Brier residents are very supportive of Israel and particularly sensitive when there are bombings. The connection between vulnerablity and persecution is still strongly etched in the memories of the survivors so Israel programming is approached thoughtfully, as well. Often, remembrance ceremonies like Yizkor and Yahrzeits are done one-on-one. Much personal attention is given because the needs of residents vary greatly. The main thrust of the care given to these seniors appears to be sensitivity to feelings, as well as to physical necessities.

There are also specific issues surrounding food and Holocaust survivors. Although the policy of the Louis Brier states on its Web site that residents are to take limited food into their rooms, special exceptions are made by the staff. Some residents feel the need to accumulate stores of food in their rooms because of trauma as a result of the Holocaust. For these residents, staff monitors their food and it is replenished with fresh food to ensure health and well being of residents.

In order to know how to accommodate survivors, all staff members of the Louis Brier receive in-service workshops. Led by experts such as Dr. Robert Krell, a psychologist and child survivor, these workshops increase the awareness of staff members of the challenges that may arise when working with survivors.

In every case when a resident is suffering from a dementia, everyone involved is affected, but Nitkin emphasizes that for a survivor, "it is cruelty beyond description."

Staff and volunteers are specially selected and trained to work with these residents. Something as seemingly benign as bathing can become a nightmare for camp survivors, who may associate being taken for a shower with the horrors experienced in the camps.

Nitkin works with all kinds of volunteers, including interacting with volunteers from the Holocaust Education Centre. Although volunteers working with Holocaust survivors often think they should be listening to reminiscences of residents as their responsibilites, Nitkin stresses that much of what the residents need is some life, friendship and joy. They need someone with whom to sit, read a book, play cards or go for a walk. The objective is to help fill the needs of the residents and give them hope.

Michelle Dodek is a freelance writer living in Vancouver.

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