Senator James Beach, Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald and Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (all D-Camden/Burlington) announced the State’s fiscal year 2014 budget includes $200,000 in funding to support New Jersey’s Holocaust survivors.
Beach, Greenwald and Lampitt sponsored the budget funding. Samost Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Southern New Jersey will be responsible for distributing the money to Holocaust survivors statewide.
“As New Jersey’s Holocaust survivor population continues to age, Claims Conference funds alone are not enough to meet increasing health and social services needs,” said Beach. “In many instances, the services provided by Jewish Family Services agencies throughout the state are literally keeping these men and women alive. By providing funding within the State budget, we will enable these agencies to continue to provide comprehensive services and meet the needs of their aging clients.”
“Supporting New Jersey’s Holocaust survivors, who have experienced terrible atrocities wrought by anti-Semitism and genocide, is a moral imperative,” said Greenwald. “We owe it to current and future generations to never forget the horrific suffering inflicted on innocent human beings during the Holocaust. By helping ensure the medical and other needs of New Jersey’s Holocaust survivors are met, we can continue to learn from their stories and ensure that this terrible time in the world’s history never happens again.”
“I am thrilled to see this critically needed funding included in the state budget,” said Lampitt. “In my mind, helping to support the health care needs of our Holocaust survivors and helping them remain in their homes is worth every penny. Our legacy as leaders in New Jersey must be one of educating our children and grandchildren about the horrors of the Holocaust, and supporting our state’s survivors is an indispensable part of that legacy.”
Estimates suggest New Jersey is home to several hundred Holocaust survivors, many of whom require assistance home care, food, and other health needs, as well as assistance allowing them to remain in their own homes.
Beach, Greenwald, and Lampitt represent New Jersey’s Sixth District in the New Jersey legislature, which is composed of 15 towns: Berlin Township, Cherry Hill, Collingswood, Gibbsboro, Haddon Township, Haddonfield, Hi-Nella, Maple Shade, Merchantville, Oaklyn, Pennsauken, Somerdale, Stratford, Tavistock, and Voorhees.