Vision
Beit Yisrael is a community which truly cares for their elderly citizens. Thus, their welfare is a cornerstone of our concern. Our vision is to offer the hundreds of isolated seniors of Gilo a warm “extended family” through the tireless efforts of our volunteers. Our volunteers strive to nurture personal connections, multi-generational community, alleviate loneliness, and provide security and continuous response to the needs of the seniors.
Activity
Over the past year, due to the pandemic we stepped up our work on behalf of the senior citizens of Gilo. With the help of the community and an amazing local volunteer network we were able to successfully stabilize and adjust all our programs to meet the needs of the senior community, while adhering to the health guidelines and restrictions imposed on us. To that end we have engaged in the following activities:
- Organized weekly meet-ups with seniors – during which meaningful discussions, biography writing, board games and crafts, among other things, take place.
- Operated a Critical Response Hotline – including increasing the team of members who are responders
- Created and moderated a local WhatsApp volunteer group to keeps its participants connected, providing both social support as well as for practical needs
- Regular “check-ups” – initiating phone calls to seniors to ensure they are well and to determine if help is needed
- COVID Vaccination Project – ensuring that all seniors have access to vaccinations, from booking appointments, to providing transportation.
- Delivering hot meals, food packages, medications, and other critically needed supplies.
- Legal rights –immigrants often struggle when dealing with the system. We provide assistance in this area as needed.