In small apartments across Los Angeles, Holocaust survivors in their late 80s, 90s and even their 100s carefully stretch a week’s worth of groceries. They remember what it was like to be hungry as children and teenagers in Europe and they never imagined they would feel that way again.
They survived ghettos, camps, hiding and loss; and rebuilt their lives, raised families and helped shape this city. Now, in their final years, many are once again worrying about food, rent, basic necessities, and medical care.
Every Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we pause to remember the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. In Los Angeles, that remembrance is about more than history. It is about the people still living here – our neighbors, grandparents and community elders – who carry that history in their bodies and memories.
Jewish Family Service LA supports more than 1,300 Holocaust survivors living at or below the poverty line – roughly half of the Survivor population in the area. Many live alone. Nearly all are navigating rising rents, high medical costs and the everyday challenge of making limited income stretch far enough.
For survivors who endured deprivation as children, financial insecurity can be deeply retraumatizing.
To help meet these urgent needs, JFSLA partners with the KAVOD Survivors of the Holocaust Emergency Fund (SHEF), a national initiative created in 2019 by Seed the Dream Foundation and KAVOD. Together, they provide trauma-informed care, emergency financial assistance, groceries, home-delivered meals, home health care and case management so survivors can remain safely in their homes. Still, the need far outpaces available resources.
“KAVOD SHEF was founded on the belief that no Holocaust survivor should ever have to suffer again,” said Dr. Marcy Gringlas, co-founder and president of Seed the Dream Foundation. “Honoring survivors includes both listening to them and caring for them. Remembrance must be paired with responsibility. They have already endured unthinkable suffering, and now many are struggling to access basic necessities. As a community, we have a responsibility to ensure they can live out their lives with dignity.”
Since its creation, KAVOD SHEF has helped fulfill more than 156,000 emergency requests nationwide – for food, rent support, medical needs and utilities. Each request represents a real person, often facing an impossible choice.
“Many survivors are forced to choose between paying rent and buying groceries,” said Talia Kaplan, executive director of Seed the Dream Foundation. “After surviving the Holocaust, we cannot allow their remaining years to be lived without access to nutrition, medical care, and support. No one organization can do this alone. We have to do it together.”
That urgency has only intensified with recent cuts and disruptions to social safety net programs, especially Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). For low-income seniors, SNAP is often the difference between eating and not eating.
“Throughout the fall, there were multiple days when we had more than $30,000 in food requests from Holocaust survivors,” said Amy Israel Pregulman, executive director and co-founder of KAVOD SHEF. “The loss of SNAP was incredibly triggering – a painful reminder of childhood hunger. It is unfathomable that survivors are facing this again.”
In Los Angeles, the impact is visible. JFSLA’s food pantries, kosher meal deliveries, congregate meal sites at senior centers, grocery assistance and personalized casework help survivors stay nourished and connected. Yet the gap remains.
“We are so grateful to KAVOD SHEF for matching the grant we receive from JFedLA, allowing us to provide $300,000 a year in emergency assistance for Holocaust survivors,” said Susan Belgrade, JFSLA’s senior director of multipurpose and senior centers, whose own mother was a Holocaust survivor. “That support covers hearing aids, dental work and other critical needs not covered elsewhere.”
But JFSLA is now seeing more requests for food delivery and groceries. “These are basic necessities that our most revered elders should never have to worry about,” Belgrade said.
Caseworkers see it every day. Survivors who once danced at community gatherings now wait for meal deliveries. Those who survived starvation fear empty refrigerators. For many, a bag of groceries left at the door is more than food – it is proof that someone remembers them.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day is not only a time to look back, it is a call to care for those still here. If remembrance does not extend to action, it is incomplete.
In Los Angeles, we can – and must – do better.
This January 27, let’s honor Holocaust survivors not only with words, but with care – ensuring they live their remaining years with the dignity, security and compassion they deserve.
