Holocaust Survivor Program in NYC

Home care allows patients to stay in familiar surroundings, maintain daily routines, and experience one-on-one focused care.

Yes! We work with families to create care plans tailored to their specific needs, including part-time, full-time, and 24/7 assistance.

Holocaust Survivor Care is a specialized form of in-home support designed to meet the unique physical, emotional, and cultural needs of aging survivors. Unlike standard elder care, caring for elderly Holocaust survivors requires awareness of trauma history, cultural sensitivity, language preferences (Yiddish, Russian, Hebrew, German, Polish), and the avoidance of triggers that can cause distress, such as uniforms, locked doors, or references to hunger. Services typically include personal care, meal preparation in line with kosher requirements, medication reminders, companionship, and transportation to medical appointments.

To apply, contact All Heart Homecare directly by phone or through the contact form on the website. A care coordinator will walk you through the intake process, which includes gathering basic information about the survivor, reviewing any existing Claims Conference authorization, and scheduling an in-home assessment. If the survivor has not yet been approved for Claims Conference funding, All Heart can refer the family to the appropriate Jewish family service agency to begin that application. Once approved, a caregiver is matched based on language, background, and personal preference, and services typically begin within a few days.

A Holocaust survivor program typically covers personal care (bathing, dressing, grooming), homemaking (cooking, laundry, light housekeeping), companionship, escort to medical appointments, emergency response systems, dental and vision care, and in some cases home modifications and emergency financial assistance. Survivors may also receive help accessing food programs, socialization activities, and mental health support. Care facilities for Holocaust survivors exist as well, though the strong preference of most survivors, and the goal of the Claims Conference, is to keep them in their own homes for as long as safely possible.

No, Medicaid is not required. The Claims Conference provides direct funding for in-home services to eligible survivors regardless of their Medicaid status, which means survivors do not need to spend down their assets to receive help. Many survivors use Claims Conference hours as their primary support, while others combine them with Medicaid, private insurance, or private pay to cover additional hours. Jewish care for Holocaust survivors is structured this way specifically so survivors can age at home with dignity and without financial hardship.

For home care purposes, a Holocaust survivor is any Jewish person who lived in a country under Nazi rule or occupation between 1933 and 1945, including those who escaped before deportation. The Claims Conference recognizes survivors from camps, ghettos, those in hiding, and refugees who fled persecution. Eligibility for home care for Holocaust survivors is determined after an initial intake with a Jewish family service agency or Claims Conference-approved provider, who reviews documentation and the survivor’s current care needs.

Eligibility generally extends to Jewish individuals who were persecuted by the Nazi regime or its allies between 1933 and 1945. This includes those who lived in concentration camps, ghettos, forced labor battalions, were in hiding, or fled as refugees from Nazi-occupied territories. Each specific reparations fund has its own eligibility criteria based on country of origin, duration of persecution, and current financial need, so many survivors qualify for some programs but not others.

Applications for Holocaust reparations are most commonly submitted through the Claims Conference (Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany), which administers the majority of compensation and home care funds. The process requires documentation of the survivor’s history, including dates and locations of persecution, ghettos, camps, or time spent in hiding. Survivors or their family members can begin an application directly at claimscon.org, or work with a local Jewish family service agency that assists with the paperwork at no cost.