Association of Jewish Refugees
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| Founded | July 1941 |
|---|---|
| Type | Social welfare agency |
| Location |
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Area served
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United Kingdom |
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Members
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ca. 3000 |
|
Key people
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Chairman: Andrew Kaufman; Chief Executive: Michael Newman |
|
Volunteers
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ca. 120 |
| Slogan | Serving Holocaust refugees and survivors nationwide |
| Mission | Provision of social welfare services to Holocaust refugees and survivors |
| Website | http://www.ajr.org.uk |
The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) is the specialist nationwide social and welfare services charity representing and supporting Jewish victims of Nazi oppression, and their dependants and descendants, living in Great Britain.
The AJR was established on 20 July 1941 to support and represent the interests of the estimated 70,000 Jewish Refugees from German-speaking countries who fled to Britain to escape Nazi oppression before the Second World War. This number includes approximately 10,000 children who fled Nazi-controlled Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia to Britain on the Kindertransport between December 1938 and August 1939.
As well as the refugees who arrived prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, AJR membership today includes several groups of post-war Jewish refugees from Europe including survivors from concentration camps and ghettos, child survivors as well as those who survived in hiding.
The children and grandchildren of refugees and survivors, the Second and Third Generations, are also entitled to be AJR members.
The AJR has specialist social care workers who attend to the daily needs of AJR members and arrange home visits to members throughout the country. As well as assisting with applications for social security benefits they advocate on behalf of clients. In addition to disbursing its own funds, the AJR, acting on behalf of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (the Claims Conference), administers emergency social, welfare and care funds which are allocated to pay for a number of services and essential items and designed to enable members to continue to live with dignity in their own homes for as long as possible. The Claims Conference negotiates annual funding for these programmes.
The Homecare scheme, which contributes to a specific number of hours of care in a person's home, has been prioritised by the German government and the Claims Conference.
The allocated funds are used to pay for a number of services and essential items including dental treatment and specialist clothing as well as urgent house repairs, recuperative and respite breaks and homecare packages.
There are specific and separate funds for Austrian and Hungarian Holocaust survivors as well as a general Emergency Fund and a Homecare programme for survivors and refugees from any country who meet the eligibility criteria.
The AJR welcomes volunteers to help with a number of projects:
Individual Befriending
Many elderly AJR members, though still living in their own homes, are frail and often isolated. Some have few or no surviving family and can find themselves to be very lonely indeed. A befriender, who can make regular visits, be someone to talk to and possibly go on walks with, would be very welcome. Currently, befrienders visit between 1-2hrs weekly, fortnightly, or even monthly.
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Wikipedia