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The JewishCare - Caring for older people living at home brochure summarises the programs provided by JewishCare for older people and their families. icon Caring for Older people (6.76 MB)

JewishCare provides the widest range of services that help older people to live active and independent lives. This may include access to JewishCare's Mental Health, Disability, Domestic Violence or other relevant programs.

JewishCare also employs an experienced Intake Officer who can provide information, referral and access to programs provided by JewishCare as well as other service providers

JewishCare has a number of ways that it can provide material and financial assistance for members of the community in a crisis. Read more

Download the Activities for Jewish Seniors brochure

icon Activities for Jewish Seniors (553.17 kB)

Aged Casework

The needs of older people are often more complex than they may at first appear and sometimes it is useful to talk things over with a professional.
JewishCare has a team of qualified and experienced caseworkers who are available to work with ageing people and their families, including carers who look after elderley family members.
These professionals can complete a comprehensive assessment and devise a care plan best suited to individual needs in order to maximise the client’s quality of life and enable them to remain living in their own home for as long as possible.

Caseworkers can also provide advocacy services as well as assisting clients to access assistive devices and adapt their physical environment to help improve their quality of life and in home safety.

The program aims to enable older members of the community to live as independently as possible. To do this JewishCare works closely with other organisations including:

Alzheimer’s Australia: http://www.alzheimers.org.au

EnableNSW http://www.enable.health.nsw.gov.au

Independent Living Centre NSW http://www.ilcnsw.asn.au

COA http://www.coasydney.org

Workers from the Aged Casework team are also available to give talks and information sessions regarding supporting people with dementia and specific issues

that may be important when caring for an older Jewish person, especially if that person is a Holocaust Survivor.

Community Club Network

Activity Centres and Friendship Clubs are popular ways for active seniors to meet with their friends and participate in a range of activities.

Currently there are 11 Friendship Clubs, all located within the Sydney Metropolitan Area, run by volunteers and supported by JewishCare. Many Clubs operate in conjunction with local Synagogues and other community organisations.

These Clubs aim to reduce isolation, loneliness and lack of stimulation by providing regular social meetings which provide a sense of belonging, mutual support and cohesiveness amongst members.

Seniors Groups and Activities under the auspices of JewishCare

The Seniors Friendship Club on the North Shore (St Ives)

Meetings, guest speakers, entertaiment and outings. Many special interest groups. Kadimah Gardens. Jubilee Street Wahroonga Last Thursday of each month at 10.30am - 12.30pm Contact Fred Seskin 9449-2773 or Maoi Gordon 9988-0261

Lapid for the visually impaired (Rose Bay)

Guest speakers, quizzes, outings, discussions, light refreshments. B'nai B'rith Retirement Village 7 - 11 Princess St Rose Bay Mondays 10.30 am - 1pm Lilly Skurnik - 9371 8336

Russian Clubs

Optimists
English classes, Information, Excursions, Library, Light refreshments. Last Wednesday of Month. Various venues. Mina Alesinski - 9698 8363
Golden Years
English classes, Information, Excursions, Library, Light refreshments.
Weekly on Fridays. Various venues. Maya Dinaburg - 9699 3882
Russian Association Of Ex-Servicemen and Women Social activities, entertainment
Mill Hill Centre, 33 Spring Street, Bondi Junction.
Last Tuesday of the month, 1pm-4pm.
Efim Solovey - 9699 9384

Triple "S" Friendship Club

Cards, rummy tiles, Scrabble, bingo, guest speakers, outings.
Weekly in Synagogue Hall, cnr. Railway Parade and Noble Street, Allawah.
Wednesdays 10am - 2pm.
Dorothy Clarke - 9528 7259

Welfare Ladies Auxillairy

Entertainment, Scrabble, cards, outings, rummy tiles, refreshments Woollahra Seniors Club, corner of Queen Street and Edgecliff Rd., Woollahra, Tuesdays 10.30am -1.30pm.
Edith Ryba - 9326 2798

Sephardi Seniors Group

Weekly bus trips to different venues Thursdays 9am - 2pm.
Esther Solomon - 9371 4481

The Shalom Group (Chatswood)

Guest speakers, Entertainment, Outings, Light refreshments Temple Emanuel Chatswood 28 Chatswood Ave Chatswood Wednesdays 10am - 2pm Lily Bendelstein - 99898620

Club 50

The Club 50 Survivors of the Shoah Social Club was established in 1995, 50 years after the liberation of the Concentration Camps at the end of World War II, as a joint initiative between JewishCare and the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors & Descendants.

The Club aims to
To ensure the preservation of the unique identity of Holocaust survivors and provide therapeutic social support activities in a Jewish framework

Club 50 offers
A monthly Tuesday lunchtime function including speakers and entertainers
A Drop-in-Centre in Woollahra providing attendees with the opportunity to play cards or games or just have a chat or a cup of coffee with friends.
Regular bus outings, including cemetery visits around the Chaggim
Referrals to other internal services and external agencies as necessary

4a Nelson Street Woollahra 2025

Val Rubel - 9302 8050

Club 50 is supported by The Claims Conference

S.P.A.R.C.S.

Conversation, guest speakers, games, entertainment, outings, light lunch Central Synagogue, Bon Accord Avenue, Bondi Junction
Mondays 11am - 1pm
Anne Louise Oystragh - 9363 0456

Cremorne Group

Guest speakers, discussions, refreshments. Cremorne Synagogue 12a Yeo St, Neutral Bay. First Monday of month 11am - 1pm Linda Subel - 9488 7100 Coming Event - 2 August Gary Samowitz talk 'Jewish Aid Jews Changing the World'

Herta Muller

The Herta Muller program aims to keep vision impaired people connected to the community by providing regular audio tapes / CDs of relevant media which are sent to the vision impaired person’s home.

The service is available to any person who has problems reading.

The program includes distributing excerpts of The Australian Jewish News each week as well as offering audio versions of various books and JewishCare’s quarterly Keeping in Touch magazine.

There is no cost for this service.

To recieve the CDs call 1300 133 660 or firstcall@jewishcare.com.au

Home Support

JewishCare offers a number of Home Support options.

1. Funded Packages of Home Support

Packages funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing,
The Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany (Claims Conference) or the Jewish Community Appeal (JCA) provide individualised supports aimed at helping older people to live independently in their own homes.

Low to Medium support needs
An older person assessed as having low to medium support needs may be able to receive a range of flexible services that include
Light housework and domestic cleaning

Shopping
Meal preparation. COA can be contacted for Kosher Meals on Wheels . http://www.coasydney.org
Laundry
Transport to appointments
Showering and dressing
Socialising and companionship
Respite for carers
Case management
Advocacy and liaising with other service providers
Access to wider range of JewishCare services.

A small number of Polish packages are available for those assessed as having high support needs. These ‘Extended Aged Care at Home’ or EACH packages will provide some nursing care and rehabilitation as well as the above range of flexible services.

Russian, Polish or Hungarian speakers can be provided on request.

Anyone can make a referral and confidentiality is assured.
If you are making a referral on behalf of someone else be sure to seek their consent before doing so.
A waiting list for Home Support services may exist and we cannot make any guarantees regarding waiting periods.

To enquire about entry into this program call FirstCall on 1300 133 660 or firstcall@jewishcare.com.au

2. JCare Private Home Care

JewishCare operates

which provides access to care workers who can be privately engaged by clients to assist with daily self-care and basic living tasks.
It may also be of value to a person:

With dementia or challenging behaviours who requires extra support
Who is feeling isolated as a result of their stage of life or disability or mental state
Being discharged from hospital and where an existing family member who has previously acted as a carer is either temporarily absent or is now unable to continue to provide the appropriate level of care
Waiting for a funded package to become available

The program may also be suitable for families who have members with a severe illness and require extra support.

The program can also be used to provide respite for a carer.

This service can be provided in the person’s own home or in a residential facility.

The type of support that can be provided by care workers is typically similar to those provided under Funded Packages of Home Support (see above).

There are two types of fees payable for the Care Worker Placement program.
• A one-off placement fee which is payable to JewishCare
• Fees payable directly to the care worker
Please discuss these with the program co-ordinator

To enquire about entry into this program call FirstCall on 1300 133 660 or firstcall@jewishcare.com.au -

Restitution

JewishCare’s Restitution program provides Holocaust survivors and their families with:

Information about the types of Restitution that may be most appropriate to their experience as well as keeping applicants up to date with the latest information on current and new funds

Advice on how to complete and send the necessary forms in order to lodge an application for Restitution

Russian Program

russian_aged_300px JewishCare provides a range of therapeutic and practical services for older members of the Russian community. The program employs Russian speaking staff who can provide case management, advocacy and education and liaison with other community organisations with the aim of helping migrants from the Former Soviet Union to more fully access the resources and activities of their area and therefore reducing their feelings of isolation.

The Factory is a drop in centre for people who typically came to Australia from The Former Soviet Union at a relatively late age, live in the Redfern/Waterloo area and have generally not managed to acquire a workable level of English language. They also tend to be of very limited financial means.

The Factory which operates 3 days a week at 67 Raglan St Redfern, involves one worker who is proficient in Russian and English and a volunteer who takes the attendees through a range of activities that include current affairs discussions and outings.

English as a Second Language classes (ESL)

JewishCare facilitates ESL classes for Russian speakers

Services for Holocaust survivors

Thanks to funding from The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) JewishCare is able to offer special services to Holocaust survivors.

Club 50 which as part of JewishCare's Community Club Network provides therapeutic social support to Survivors

Funded home support packages which help survivors to remain living independently in their own homes are available to those assessed as being financially less well-off

Aged Case Work and Assessment which facilitates the provision of appropriate inputs and resources to meet each individual's needs

Emergency funding which can be used to provide short term emergency help for financially less well-off survivors

Restitution support which helps survivors and their families to submit restitution claims

The Claims Conference distributes a weekly e-mail bulletin on current restitution developments and Claims Conference activities. You may subscribe to this free service through the homepage of the Claims Conference's website (click the button below or type this address into your address bar: www.claimscon.org or by sending an email to news@claimscon.org

The Burger Centre

The Burger Centre – your key to independence

The Burger Centre is a joint venture between JewishCare and the Montefiore Home located at 120 King Street Randwick.
The Centre provides:
A Day Centre program and
A Positive Ageing program.
The aim of both programs is to enhance older peoples’ capability to remain living independently in their own homes as well as facilitating their good health and social connectivity within the community.

Day Centre program

The Day Centre program is for the frail aged including those with special needs resulting from a stroke, dementia or other illness who live in their own homes in Randwick, Botany, Sydney, Waverley or Woollahra Local Government Areas. The Centre can also offer respite for carers.
Following an assessment by Burger Centre staff, an individual service plan will be developed which then ensures the clients access appropriately stimulating activities which may include:

Exercise and physical activities. This may involve the use of the Eric Dreikurs Aquatic Centre

Educational talks and discussions

Arts and crafts

Concerts and performances by professional musicians and entertainers

Outings to local parks and beaches

The Celebration of Jewish Festivals and cultural events

Clients are given nutritious kosher meals including a delicious hot lunch.
Burger Centre buses collect people from their own homes and drop them off again in the afternoon.
Based on recent research which shows that preventing a first fall is a key to enabling people to live safely and independently in their own homes, the Centre initiated the Fit2Fit program.
This program includes conducting a mobility and shoe assessment, enabling clients to access relevant skills training, walking aids and correct fitting footwear which have been shown to help reduce the risk of an older person experiencing a fall.

The Burger Day Centre program is funded by both Federal and State Government as well as from a grant from JCA

Attendees are asked to pay a small fee although those who cannot afford to pay will not be denied access to the Centre.
While clients are at The Centre they may be able to access a range of other JewishCare and Montefiore services.

Positive Ageing Program

Currently funded via a grant from the JCA, this program is aimed at well older people in the community. The program aims at keeping individuals active, connected and educated. The program follows the current trends in what is considered healthy ageing and promotes activities that help acquire skills in keeping fit and preventing falls.
Current activities include:
A modified form of Tai Chi runs twice a week by a Tai Chi master who is also a qualified doctor. The classes are very popular and many people return each term to build on the skills they have learnt. Tai Chi is an evidence based mind/body practice that can offer real results in improving balance and reducing the risk of a fall.

Hydro-cise, or gentle water exercises run weekly in the Eric Dreikurs Aquatic Centre, the largest hydrotherapy pool in the Southern Hemisphere. Classes are fun and invigorating and a great experience. The gentle support of the water can provide relief for those who suffer arthritic pain and other mobility related ailments or injuries

A number of classes are run on term time schedule (10 week terms), and there are plans to expand the range of activities being offered including Yoga.

All classes attract a small fee and lunch is offered before or after any of the classes.

To enquire about entry into this program call The Burger Centre on 8345 9147 or see www.burgercentre.com.au