Australian Jewish Welfare Society on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Jewish Care is a philanthropic organisation that was originally founded to serve the
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
population of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. Today, Jewish Care run several aged care facilities and help peoples in poverty, disability services and rehabilitation and respite.
It is located in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Australia.
History
The organisation was founded in 1948 as the Melbourne Jewish Philanthropic Society. Another organisation with the same name was established as early as 1892.
[Trove
Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...]
) - 12 July 1892 - Melbourne Jewish Philanthropic Society"> In 1936, the organisation changed its name to the Australian Jewish Welfare Society.
In 2001, the organisation became Jewish Care after merging with Montefiore Homes, the largest Jewish aged care facility in Victoria.
Activities
Jewish Care has several
aged care
Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English-speaking world as aged care), serves the needs of old adults. It encompasses assisted living, adult daycare, long-term care, nursing homes (often called residential care), hos ...
facilities in addition to Montefiore Homes. These include Gary Smorgon House, and Munzer House. Jewish care also has respite centres and
home care
Homecare (home care, in-home care, care at home), also known as domiciliary care, personal care, community care, or social care, is health care or supportive care provided in the individual home where the patient or client is living, generally focu ...
services.
Jewish Care also offers as interest free loans for Jewish entrepreneurs and their
start ups, and partnerships with other communal organisations.
Jewish Care is listed by the
JCCV's emergency response organisation, Jewish Emergency Management Provider (JEMP) as a part of the communal support network. Jewish Care was are slated to engage in over $180 million worth of building works, including $85 million for one building in St Kilda Rd.
Controversy
In 2012, the families of some residents at Munzer House accused Jewish Care of substandard care at the facility. The families claimed that the situation was cause by staff and budget cuts. Examples of substandard care included rationing of
sanitary pads, failure to look after the religious needs of the residents, and forcing residents to wait to go to the toilet for up to an hour.
The claims of neglect and
elder abuse
Elder abuse (also called elder mistreatment, senior abuse, abuse in later life, abuse of older adults, abuse of older women, and abuse of older men) is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where ...
soon extended to other care facilities run by Jewish Care, including banning family members and serious neglect of the elderly residents. Some of the families contacted the
Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is a statutory authority in the Australian state
The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially so ...
regarding the care at the facilities.
In 2013, Jewish Care began an inquiry that dealt with extensive
child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...
that happened at a children's home between 1939 and 1992, when it closed.
In 2015, the General Manager of Cultural & Spiritual Services,
Meir Shlomo Kluwgant
Meir Shlomo Kluwgant (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מאיר שלמה קלווגנט; born 1968) is an Haredi Judaism, ultra-Orthodox Chabad communal rabbi in Melbourne, Australia. He has held numerous posts including at Jewish Care (Australia), Jewish ...
, was forced to resign following an abusive text message that he sent calling the father of a victim of
sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...
a "lunatic".
In 2016, Jewish Care opened a confidential phone line to assist the
Yeshivah Centre, Melbourne
The Yeshivah Centre is an Orthodox Jewish umbrella organisation in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, that serves the needs of the Melbourne Jewish community. It is run by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, until recently, under the direct administrati ...
in their redress scheme for the victims of sexual abuse by the centre. The name of at least one of the victims was leaked by a board member of Jewish Care to the board of the Yeshiva Centre. This act allegedly led to the bullying and intimidation of the victim.
References
{{Pedophilia, state=expanded
Community organizations