DELIVERING COMMUNITY CARE
WITH COMPASSION

Delivering community care with compassion

FOOD INSECURITY IS INCREASING ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY

Your gift is providing food relief to our vulnerable community members.

Poverty is a reality for some 20% of Montreal Jews who struggle to meet both their basic human needs as well as their individual Jewish needs. The Covid-19 pandemic further pushed the needle towards a rising number of households experiencing financial distress.

In partnership with the support of the Jewish Community Foundation, and the support of our donors, we were able to support the increased demand for food around both Rosh Hashanah and Passover by allocating funds to four organizations that provide food security relief to thousands of community members. This partnership allowed us to expand our reach and ensured that those who were in need received access to healthy food, and for isolated community members, an opportunity to celebrate the Jewish holidays with dignity.

Three female Zera Café workers, standing in café kitchen, wearing masks, gloves, and aprons
Three female Zera Café workers, standing in café kitchen, wearing masks, gloves, and aprons

THANKS TO YOUR GIFT…

0M
was allocated for poverty relief and food security
0
food security support and basic essentials interventions
were made to houselholds requiring support over the rosh hashanah and passover holidays
0+
children’s lives were touched by this assistance
0
kosher meals-on-wheels were delivered in the span of one year

MANY HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN OUR COMMUNITY WERE ALREADY IMPOVERISHED—THEN THE PANDEMIC HIT

Your gift is bringing support to hundreds of our community’s survivors.

31% of Montreal’s Holocaust survivors are living in poverty.

Many of our Holocaust survivors are experiencing a deterioration of physical and psychological health. An increasing number of Holocaust survivors in our community live alone with limited family and social support—and many have been isolated due to the pandemic.

THANKS TO YOUR GIFT…

0
kosher meals-on-wheels received financial assistance to meet their basic needs
$0
allocated to help our survivors with food, medication, rent, and other urgent items
0
elderly and homebound individuals received books during lockdown from the Jewish public library’s book-on-wheels book program
0
care calls made to isolated seniors
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interventions made to vulnerable, isolated seniors requiring support or timely information

AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS ARE ON THE RISE IN OUR COMMUNITY

Your gift is helping to create community through affordable housing.

Access to good quality, affordable housing can help reduce and often break the cycle of poverty and promote long-term self-sufficiency.  With the pressures of increasing inflation—hitting a new 31-year high of 6.8% in April—the cost of housing, food, and necessities are becoming more expensive daily.  Far too many families are spending a disproportionate amount of their disposable income on rent, and are left with insufficient resources to meet their other basic needs. Persons living with disabilities and their families, as well as other vulnerable members of the community throughout Montreal continue to require support.

Man wearing glasses smiling and hugging young, smiling female child.
Man wearing glasses smiling and hugging young, smiling female child.

THE NEEDS ARE RISING…

0+
households are on the waitlist for affordable housing, a 13% increase over the previous year
$0
allocated over three years towards Kehilla’s rental assistance program, which is a response to the growing and urgent need for affordable housing in the community and was created to alleviate the financial burden of rent for those who are on the waitlist for Kehilla’s Affordable Housing. Yet, many still struggle, the need for these services is not over. Our efforts must and will continue to push forward
0
units are occupied in Kehilla, spending less of their monthly budget on rent provides them with more disposable income for food and clothing, thereby reducing stress
0%
of Kehilla tenants report a positive change in their economic circumstances

FEDERATION CJA’S INCLUSION INTIATIVE HAS ACTED AS A PRIMARY CONVENER OF MONTREAL’S JDAIM CELEBRATIONS

Your gift is helping our community benefit from access to more high-quality initiatives than ever before—showing us that disability inclusion knows no boundaries.

Jewish Disability Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) is a unified effort worldwide celebrated in the month of February, to raise awareness and foster acceptance and inclusion of people living with disabilities and mental health conditions and those who love them.

In Montreal, JDAIM has fostered inclusion innovation on the ground by creating ripples that extend broadly in the community through programs, initiatives, and meaningful dialogue that push boundaries—the ripples of which are often felt year-round.

Federation CJA’s Inclusion Initiative promotes meaningful inclusion of persons living with disabilities and their families within the fabric of community life, and JDAIM also helps to serve as an important catalyst for innovative programming and creates the conditions for meaningful dialogue, inclusion partnerships and collaborations across the community.

Young female child looking down at her artwork.
Young female child looking down at her artwork.

THANKS TO YOUR GIFT…

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community members participated in 40+ unique offerings involving over 30 local organizations to celebrate JDAIM 2022
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students in our Jewish day schools participated in a series of sessions to educate and sensitize students about inclusion through meeting with members of Montreal’s Shira choir and learning about innovative social enterprises in Israel

RESPONDING TO CRITICAL SITUATIONS

Federation CJA is committed to ensuring the provision of crucial resources for Jewish community members living with a disability. We are also committed to ensuring that Montreal Jews facing critical situations (such as, situations flowing from: housing, food or income insecurity, mental illness, substance dependence, psychological and/or emotional abuse including sexual and gender-base violence, conjugal violence, child abuse, or elder abuse) are supported in securing essential resources in a timely way.

 

The mental health and wellbeing of community members continued to be impacted this year by the on-going disruptions of living through a pandemic. Economic uncertainty, social distancing, social isolation, and loneliness have only exacerbated mental health issues, anxiety, and depression, and led to a significant increase in demand for services. Federation CJA provided ongoing funding to support additional clinical staff at four impact partners, thereby reducing wait times and caseload wait lists.

1,241 individuals received crisis counselling and mental health wellness interventions in a timely manner

 

Woman smiling
Woman smiling

GESHER WAS FEDERATION CJA’S RESPONSE TO SUPPORT FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS BY HELPING THEM WITHSTAND THE COVID-19 FINANCIAL CRISIS

Your gift ensured that the impact was temporary and that community members did not withdraw from Jewish life.

As a result of the pandemic, hundreds of families and individuals in our community were faced with temporary financial hardships and endured some of the hardest times they have ever had to go through.

YOUR GIFT HELPED SUPPORT THE TEMPORARILY VULNERABLE…

0
applicants since the pandemic began
$0
was disbursed since the inception of the program