Ten years have passed after then-Vice President Joe Biden announced the formation of the White House Holocaust Survivor Initiative, the public-private partnership that fuels Jewish Federations of North America's Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and Institute on Aging and Trauma, the program has touched the lives of more than 40,000 survivors across the United States.
The Center is the only entity dedicated to funding, learning, and sharing the most promising practices of serving Holocaust survivors, so we may develop tools to help all older adults with a history of trauma and their family caregivers
"While we’re proud of our achievements of the past decade, the biggest impact is yet to come," said Shelley Rood Wernick, the Center's managing director. "As more foundations, state and local governments, and private-sector companies join our mission and invest in the caring principles we have mastered, we will be able to continue scaling programs that improve life for older adults and their families.
In addition, the program has spurred a national movement to help other adults as they age, using lessons from Holocaust survivors.
Read more here in an opinion piece Wernick penned for eJewish Philanthropy, and learn more about the Center here.