Director's Note

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I hope this email finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy.

The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the lives of the asylum seekers in Jerusalem. From people who were just scraping by, they have now become people who cannot pay rent, medical insurance, or buy food. The humanitarian crisis is of immense proportions and unfortunately it will not improve soon. When breadwinners in the community eventually start going back to work, they will have to deal with large outstanding debts for rent, electricity, water and medical insurance. It will take many months until they will need less help from JACC.

Since this crisis began, JACC has put all its energies into meeting the most urgent needs of the asylum seeker community. Our Emergency Aid Fund has raised over 345,000ILS in donations from individual donors and foundations. We have also received over 200,000ILS worth of dry food and 100,000ILS of prepared meals, as well as hundreds of packages of fresh fruit and vegetables, from the Jerusalem municipality and other generous organizations. Additionally, we have secured funding for two new temporary staff members to assist us over the next couple of months as we continue to meet the day-to-day needs of the community. Thanks to help from supporters like you, we have so far been able to provide the community with food and a small amount of money for their basic needs.

Unfortunately, we now find ourselves in a precarious position. This unforeseen crisis has required us to focus all our attention on immediate aid and even divert program funds to cover food and medical aid expenses. As a result, we do not have enough funds for JACC to keep on working until the end of the year. 

The thought of closing the only organization serving the asylum seeker community in Jerusalem is too awful to comprehend. Knowing how difficult it is to raise money at the moment, we were in a very dark place until we were offered a lifeline. A family trust in Israel is prepared to give us 100,000ILS on the condition that we raise a matching amount. 

I hope you will read our staff updates below and be inspired by the work our team is doing everyday to ensure the safety and health of Jerusalem’s asylum seeker community. The JACC community is turning to you, our loyal friends and supporters, to help us keep our doors open. Please consider donating here to help us reach our 100,000ILS goal.  Any amount big or small will be much appreciated.

Stay safe.

Best Wishes,

Josie Mendelson

“Throughout the Coronavirus closures, the Learning Center continued to operate online. The children received educational, emotional and financial assistance according to their needs. Last week, we started individual face-to-face meetings.  We hope that we can soon also return to group meetings as the children very much miss being together.”

-  Gitit Spigel, Manager of the Learning Center

“We have distributed 60 tablets to children in the community. We initiated a collaboration with ISRAID who conducted a training session on how to deal with stress and resilience and donated several hundred kits with tools to help build resilience and deal with stress conditions in adults and children.

We made sure that all the asylum seeker children were checked for the virus, in all schools where the Coronavirus was discovered. We are in constant contact with educational staff, making sure to translate and disseminate community parenting guidelines, and maintaining direct contact with community parents to address the various needs that have arisen during this crisis. We are also working to inform the authorities about the special needs of children and families in our community.”

-  Gilat Shusterman, Manager of Youth & Children Programs

“The Youth Club continued to have meetings over Zoom and kept in touch during the closures. We recently started working closely with the municipal department for youth advancement and returned to face-to-face meetings while following the guidelines.

In addition, I began assisting with the managing of the Center and coordinating volunteers. I worked on preparing the Center for a return to activities in a way that would adhere to the Health Ministry’s guidelines and ensure the safety of community members, volunteers and staff. I am also involved in food distributions and some of the projects we are running during this time of emergency.”

-Bar Stotzky Elkin, Assistant to the Director

“As the Community Coordinator, I am constantly receiving requests for help from the community.  Throughout this crisis, I have translated all official notices from Hebrew into Amharic and Tigrinya, and have been helping community members fill out forms in Hebrew. When community members are ill, I deliver food to them and help them get to a doctor. For those who are alone, I make sure that a neighbor or another community member is checking in on them.”

- Sernai Dori, Community Coordinator

“In the Rights & Advocacy department, we are helping  asylum seekers receive refunds from their deposit money after the High Court ruled on April 23rd, that the Deposit Law is illegal. We are helping the community to open bank accounts and receive banking services. We are providing aid and assistance to those with health problems so that they can receive medical care and helping with visa renewals. In addition, we are helping the community deal with employers who are withholding funds.”

- Miriam Frank, Manager of Rights & Advocacy Department

"The Psychosocial Department has been dealing primarily with humanitarian aid due to the crisis. We are distributing hundreds of food parcels each month, and this month we will continue with the help of our partners who are donating food, community activists who help us organize the distributions, and the volunteers who assist us in delivering packages to families living outside the city center.  

This month, we distributed financial aid to single mothers, distressed families, and individuals suffering from health problems. Baby diapers and baby food are also being distributed. Vouchers have been purchased and will be given to 100 families this month to help cover their basic needs.

All of this is happening along with treatments and psychosocial services for people suffering from stress and fear. We have, as can be expected, new cases coming to us constantly."

- Tamar Zilberbush, Manager of Psychosocial Services

“As the Resource Development Manager, I have been working on securing funds for JACC's Emergency Aid Fund as well as for our general operating costs and regular programming. During this difficult time, I have also been making sure our donors and supporters are kept up to date on what's happening in the community and how they can help.”

- Lucia Panasci, Resource Development Manager