29 Comments

• chleaks.com

  I wonder if there already is a old age home in crown heights…

• there must be someone who cares!

  I would like to comment on the Shalom Center which is supposedly there to help the elderly. I have been there to visit and I as not impressed. There are no activities or anything happening there. My mother always says there is nothing to go for. There are käh so many girls ,boys woman and men with various talents that can and should go and entertain ,inspire.do arts and crafts , exercise and even a shiur maybe for the elderly at the Shalom Center. Every day can be packed with activities for our elderly parents. Please someone , take charge! I would if I could however I am a shlucha living overseas.

• chaim

  Let me explain. I have been in the health care industry here in New York now for 15 years. Medicare-Medicaid patients will qualify for a nice facility in the heart of any community. However, in crown heights we have no achdus, and who will sell a piece of property without a profit for the community. Everyone knows its needed, but its never going to happen.

• BL

  I agree. It would be wonderful to have a nursing home right here in Crown Heights, one that models after the nursing homes in Israel that greatly respects the elderly.

  We have enough local schools here that would benefit greatly to bring their students to visit.

• great idea!

  this is needed!

• someone who has seen it all

  That is an excellent point. Many elderly people
  who cannot take care of themselves and their children arent able to have them at home are suffering tremendously by being put in a nursing home that is far from home or with people that are not our culture. They are put in the hands of non jews who are very overloaded with their work and couldnt care less about them.They have one nurse for 20 patients. They are very lonely and this is one way that makes them deteriorate faster.It would be an unbelievable difference if we can actually have a nursing home available in our community that could cater and care about our parents who cared about us our entire lives.Hatzlacha I really hope it would be a project that would happen quickly!

• Zeidy needs an assited living apt in CH

  I agree. For the elderly, even a move to Boro Park, Williamsburg or Flatbush is too far, physically, and also having to get used to different nusach in shul, etc. Chabad needs something for the elderly and infirm, We have a shluchim hotel, is that more important that a home for Bubby and Ziedy whose children might be shluchim who actually get use the hotel when they come home for a visit?

• cnl

  This has always been a problem in our community. Everybody gets helped everywhere except in our Shchuna. Everyone suffers from young to old. It says you have to take care of your own first. So what happened?

• listen up chjcc!!

  did you think about how many jobs it would bring to our neighbourhood?? Girls could have another job as carers instead of only being a teacher! Many ppl would benefit from this not just the elderly.
  yes we really need an old age home here. in Manchester there is a frum old age home with nursing care on one floor, and only assisted living on other floors. instead of elderly ppl being alone they could live there and still be independant, have a small kitchen and apt etc. when they neeed they can join in with the meals on the main floor. its even next door to a shul so even elderly ppl in wheelchairs could still be apart of the community.

• Pinny

  Over the past month I have been been delving into the possibility of an effective ALR, assisted living residence, for our neighborhood. There is no doubt in my mind that a community the size of Crown Heights could make good use of an ALR. I am certain it would enhance the lives of many of our seniors.

  I am ready to host a meeting in my home after Tisha B’Av to discuss this further with anyone who has to offer serious and thoughtful input in the areas of finance, NY state department of health relations, possible ALR locations, programs for seniors and any other helpful and insightful input.

  Please contact Pinny 347-414-3044 or email pinnyreal@gmail.com

• Yossel

  Our community can’t get its act together to fix the Mikvah, provide senior services, or build a community-based Shadchan/Shidduchim program.

  I expect we can’t get our act together to build housing for the elderly either. And running a home for the elderly should NOT be a profit making venture. My mom lives in what would be classified as a nice retirement community, and they cut corners on everything to save a buck and maximize PROFIT. That’s the operative word for everything in the community, MONEY PROFIT and POWER.

  I can just see two sides fighting over who gets to run the old age home, who gets the profits, and trying to bring the other side to a Din Torah, which they won’t go because each side thinks the other side’s rabbonim are all crooks…

• Tzipporah Sufrin

  To #3
  Who said people cannot sell a property for profit? I think it good be run as business venture. The achdus and fell good feelling that it will bring to the community is immesurable.The peace of mind that it would bring to relatives of the elderly and infirm konwing tha their loved ones are safe would be immense. to #9 besides the jobs that it would bring to the neighbourhood, it would transform the attitude of young people. Instead of avoiding elderly because it is too scary, they will visit on Shabbos and Yom Tov engage with them and entertain them. Local schools can make it as part of their mivtzoim projects to go and visit the elderly once a week -ADOPT A BUBBY OR ZEIDY- to vist.
  IT COULD ONLY ENHANCE THE CMMUNITY,

• Yes, this is needed!

  Great idea! My mother, she should live and be well, lives out of town in a facility, and I would live to bring her to Crown Heights to an excellent quality nursing home/assisted living facility!

• MOSHE

  HAVING SUCH A FACILITY WILL GIVE THE YOUNG PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO FOCUS IN A MEANINGFUL ON OTHERS RATHER THEN ON THEMSELVES, IE FASHION, COMPUTERS AND OTHER SHTUSIM

• housewife

  To #2. You’re wrong. I’ve been there many times & I see things going on. Maybe they are not exciting to you & me but they exist.

  As for an old age home – a good idea, but I’d rather see a battered women’s shelter for NY Jewish women & their children. I’ve been advocating for one for years (no, I am not a battered wife B”H but some people I know are.) There’s no where for them to go to escape the abuse.

• memberesther

  i think it would be wonderful for someone in crown heights to open a state of the art nursing home for seniors. in toronto they have a beautiful state of the art nursing home which is called the baycrest. I think most people in the crown heights community would be thrilled to have a nursing home. if one builds a nursing home there should be oranized programs for the yomim tovim,schools shouls be able to perform for the seniors,and also have a dining hall, and should be wheel chair accessible.

• An out of town shliach

  A timely and overdue article. The consensus is that a facility is needed and some insightful added benefits have been aired.
  Surely there must be talents in CH who can collectively tackle this issue in the absence of any official body wishing to take it on board.People with energy, enthusiasm, sensitivity, innovative to research the possibility of funding from Government, agencies, as well as individuals wishing to consider the commercial profits from a public-private partnership.
  There are many more elderly than you think its just natural not to see them walking the streets. One does not need to go search for hashgocho prottis – it exists on ones doorstep.

• Srulik from Troy

  “Old Age Home” is no longer P.C. – “Assisted Living” “Active Retirement Residences” , “Skilled Nursing Facility”.
  Be nice!

• The first step, I think is.........

  Great idea to have a nursing home here in CH. The first step perhaps is to have an assisted living facility. Where each person (or couple) get an apartment, with carers nearby when needed. A room for a shul and shiurim. An activity room. and a room to hang out in. Anywhere between Atlantic Ave and Winthrop Ave would do.

• very sad

  Comment #2 is sadly all too true. I also had a relative who tried out the Shalom Center and found it totally lacking in any stimulating activities or ruchnius. She was also suspicious of the kashrus of the meals, because it appears that there is no oversight by anyone frum once the food is delivered from an outside ( reliable – we checked ) source. As for using our kids to volunteer, that would be terrific, both for the students and for the older people, but there are two full-time paid employess that work there – it is THEIR responsibility to make sure that there are activities from the minute the doors open in the morning until they close in the afternoon( 4 or 5 pm ? ) Lubavitch runs amazing activities for young and old all around the world – our own Shalom Center should be a shining example of a creative and inspiring community facility for our beloved parents, bubbies and zeides. I realize that this does not take the place of a local assisted living center ( also VERY much needed ) but BH we do have a very large number of relatively healthy, “with it” seniors in Crown Heights who sit all day and look at their four walls, even those with loving family nearby. The field of Geriatrics is filled with trained professionals with the knowledge and training to put together and run the type of program that our elderly deserve and would want to attend – maybe the time has finally come to explore concrete ways to make the Shalom Center live up to its potential.

• Blame yourself

  Why does every issue we have I’n the community turn into a shlichus bashing session, if you see a problem get a couple of people together and DO something about it, instead of pointing fingers at th the shluchim, saying aha! The rebbe focused on shlichus that’s why ch is neglected! this is a false accusation and a chutzpa to the rebbe, the only reason why ch is neglected is because the residents let it be that way stop whining get up and do something.

• follow europe-s example

  In every European community there is a home for the Jewish elderly. It says a lot.

• Milhouse

  #15, There are many shelters for battered women, even if not in CH, but where is there even one shelter for battered men? There are tremendous resources being spent on the problem of battered women, and almost nothing at all on the equal problem of battered men. How can you justify *increasing* that imbalance?

• Yehudis Mark

  We want to see an active and a full-scale nursing care facility on the doorstep of 770’s streets. Look at your Jewish Children’s Museum. Why not ask the architect of that structure to design a state of the art Nursing/Active Adult facility. Apartments with the means to cook, an active Shul with Bochurim and local Rabbi’s running it with hatzlocha. There should be an activity area, but not TV’s running on and on 24 hours a day. Let’s treat our elders with respect and not insult their minds ! Children in the community and women in the community bringing themselves there for “cheer up visits” especially to the frail elderly. Let’s make it world class so the best years of their lives can be the ones that make especially worthwhile memories. Shabbos Mattos Masei is about to begin. I wish You all a Gutten Shabbos. Let’s do this, not just talk about it forever and ever. If children and families deserve a Jewish Children’s Museum, don’t we owe our elderly in Crown Heights a similar LUXURY? Yehudis Mark

• Moishav Zkeinim

  The only way to avoid politics is to allow businessmen to build it and run it as a for-profit entity.

  While the self-hating Jewish press loves to magnify the supposed violations found in frum-owned nursing homes, many are actually very successful and very well-run businesses. The few that are known for problems are or were owned by problematic individuals (I don’t want to mention names) who are or were involved in other forms of personal and business fraud. What’s more, the problematic homes serve the “disadvantaged,” who are very well known for abusing whatever they are given, regardless of their age.

• A shliach from out of town

  Sadly, there is indeed a need for a refuge for battered wives, but these are located at secret locations to ensure safety. A facility for the elderly, on the other hand, needs to be in an area familar to them. Not just to minimize disorientation but also to facilitate the regular visits of familiar faces – family and friends.

  As for battered husbands, there are already exists a refuge – its 770.

• A QUESTION FOR MILLHOUSE #23

  In the name of intellectual integrity & honesty, please bring statistics ( and specific source of these statistics ) for your wild statement that there are an EQUAL number of battered men. I’m not saying it has never happened, but EQUAL numbers ??? Rabbi Twersky in his ground-breaking book on domestic violence in frum communites – “Suffer in Silence” – clearly states that the abusers, both emotional & physical, are overwhelmingly the husbands. Can you bring serious, sourced statistics to deny that ?

• a shlucha

  I agree with the brave writer – there is a definite need for a facility in crown heights similar to aishel avrohom in williamsburg. in fact, perhaps an inquiry with those owners would lead to them opening one up in c’h.

  some of the comments are really nasty and unnecessary. the shluchim are successful because they work hard and don’t blame the community for all their problems.

  it’s high time our elderly received the care they so desperately need right here in our shchunah…..and with the population aging rapidly, there is no time like the present.

  and i agree with those comments that say it SHOULD be a for profit agency. why not? no one wants to work for nothing and we have enough tzedaka projects. there is money in nursing homes….we just need the right people…..

  so perhaps the person who volunteered to hold a meeting should actually call aishel avrohom or another chassidishe home and have a meeting with them as well.

  hazlacha to all and during these 9 days let us hope to see the geulah so that this will be a moot point.

• Ateres Zekainim

  Excellent article!! This is of paramount importance! To care for our dear elderly loved ones the way they cared for us when we were young. The amount of ahavas yisroel that would be generated would be a blessing for the community..schools visiting the old age home etc. ateres zekainim…