Call Center to Serve Holocaust Survivors
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem joined its charitable partners Yad Rosa and Bnai Zion last month to open the first-of-its-kind National Call Center to serve the urgent needs of Holocaust Survivors and other elderly Israelis nationwide.
The National Call Center was dedicated in the Hadar neighborhood of Haifa, just two blocks from the ICEJ’s Home for Holocaust Survivors. The call center was the vision of Shimon Sabag, CEO of Yad Rosa, which opened an emergency call center in Haifa last year to reach out to Holocaust Survivors and other elderly in the surrounding area who were confined to their homes due to COVID-19. The center began taking them groceries and hot meals, arranging home repairs, driving Survivors to the doctor for medical care and vaccine shots, and sending volunteers on home visits to lift their spirits. Some received walkers or wheelchairs to help them get around. The call center also acquired a fleet of scooters to ensure rapid responses to those with immediate needs. In addition, the crisis center called Survivors to check in and let them know someone cared.
The ICEJ joined in supporting this local call center in Haifa earlier this year, and the vision has since grown to provide one central emergency call center to serve the whole nation. Eventually, local distribution warehouses will be set up in several large Israeli cities to cover all regions of the country.
The ICEJ joined with Bnai Zion, an American Jewish charitable organization, to provide seed funding to help the newly expanded National Call Center operate during its initial years of service.
The new National Call Center will operate 24 hours around the clock on weekdays and will be manned by staff and community volunteers from across Israeli society, as well as youth performing their year of national service. These teams will actively reach out to scores of Holocaust Survivors every day to inquire about their condition and needs and then work to immediately assist them. Assistance may include medical and rehabilitation equipment, oxygen generators, surveillance cameras for continuous assistance, prescribed medications, hot meals, and groceries, all provided free of charge to the Holocaust Survivors and other elderly In Israel. The volunteers also will pay home visits and deliver blankets, appliances, and other household items as needed.
One special feature of the new initiative is delivering a free Medical Alert watch to every Holocaust Survivor in Israel. This digital watch can monitor the wearer’s vital signs and has an emergency alert button and GPS locator to alert the Yad Rosa teams and other first responders when they have an urgent need and where they can be found.
Another key feature of the national emergency center will be the fleet of scooters to be deployed nationwide that will allow fast responses to those who need urgent help.
This new National Call Center provides a timely, effective, and comprehensive means to meet the needs of many more worthy Holocaust Survivors throughout Israel. And we are looking to our Christian friends and supporters worldwide to help us fund this emergency center in the years ahead.
Please extend your hand of compassion to deserving Holocaust Survivors in Israel by supporting this nationwide calling center in Haifa. Thank you for caring and for acting today!