CEO Dana Toppel writes: As a community, we have the honor of standing with survivors and lifting up their lives, experiences, and voices. Let’s ensure that their remaining days are filled with love, light and dignity instead of hate, fear and pain.

Survivors are confronting urgent and increasingly complex needs shaped by aging and the lasting wounds of their past. We embrace our collective responsibility to ensure they receive compassionate care and support in their final years.

At Jewish Family Service of San Diego, we serve over 500 Holocaust survivors in Orange and San Diego Counties, including Helen, through our Supporting Our Survivors program. In the last three years, the number of recipients we assist has increased by 234.

This resilient population deserves and needs compassionate, trauma-informed and culturally competent care to live their remaining years in dignity.

Helen and all survivors deserve the chance to keep saying, “Today is the beginning of another good day in my long life.”

In this Op-Ed by CEO Dana Toppel, she addresses how we care for Survivors on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, designated by the United Nations General Assembly as a day to remember those who have passed and honor those who survived and carry lifelong invisible wounds of the past.

Yet the history books aren’t closed—there’s still an opportunity to uplift the lives of those who’ve suffered greatly in one of the world’s worst atrocities. On this day of remembrance, we honor survivors not only with our words, but with action.

As a community, we can help Holocaust survivors who endured history’s darkest chapter live their remaining years with dignity, care and compassion.

CEO Dana Toppel shares in this Op-Ed: “Because of what I went through, I had no teeth in my mouth. I never smiled with an open mouth,” said Ben, 89.

Ben survived the Holocaust. Today, he lives in San Diego as one of thousands of Holocaust survivors still with us. His story is a testament not only to unimaginable resilience, but also to the responsibility we share to ensure that those who endured history’s darkest chapter can age with dignity.

While the number of Holocaust survivors is steadily declining, their needs are growing more urgent. I see this every day in my role at Jewish Family Service of San Diego, which supports more than 500 Holocaust survivors in San Diego and Orange Counties. They range in age from 81 to more than 100 years old and speak English, Russian, Yiddish, Ukrainian, French, Hungarian and other native languages. Each survivor carries a lifetime of memories of loss, survival, rebuilding and perseverance.

These men and women endured unspeakable trauma during the Holocaust. Many lost parents, siblings, spouses and entire communities. They rebuilt their lives from nothing, often arriving in the United States with no resources and deep emotional scars. Today, as they age, many face new challenges, often alone and in poverty.

Over the past five years alone, rents in San Diego have surged by more than 40%. Nearly half of San Diego households are now considered “rent-burdened,” spending more than 30% of their income just to keep a roof over their heads. Low- and middle-income families—the people who power our economy and anchor our neighborhoods—are increasingly being pushed out of the region altogether. By combining the deep expertise and proven track record of reputable housing developers with the success of mission-driven nonprofits, this partnership offers a bold, practical path forward with real community benefit and financial efficiency—and establishing a replicable model for the region. Over the next five years, we hope to scale this approach, potentially bringing upwards of 2,000 low- and moderate-income, high-quality affordable homesto the San Diego region.

Families staying at the Rose Canyon Safe Parking lot are enjoying some upgraded amenities. Program operator Jewish Family Service (JFS) of San Diego unveiled a newly renovated common space – created to bring comfort, connection and a sense of home to the families staying at the site. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, JFS staff, and community partners celebrated the transformation of this space into a welcoming environment where children, youth, and parents can gather, share meals, study and simply be together as they work toward more stable housing.
“The City’s partnership with Jewish Family Service to operate our Safe Parking Program is delivering real results,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “Jewish Family Service sets the standard for how to pair shelter with services, transforming a safe place to sleep into a pathway to stability for families. Support from a generous community donor and nonprofit partners is helping expand this impact and demonstrates the power of partnership in reducing homelessness.”

The site, run by Jewish Family Services, shows family-friendly renovations to accommodate people using the safe parking site. Samantha Gleiberman, who had the inspiration for the project, shares “Being here at night, the kids were playing in the dark and they didn’t have a place to do their homework and the parents didn’t have a place to relax and cook family dinner.”

One of the city’s safe sleeping parking lots, run by Jewish Family Service, has just been renovated to include a new community space and various other appliances. Karla, a client on the lot, explains what it means for her family, “My kids don’t call this the JFS Safe Parking space. We call it home. My kids say, ‘We are going to go play, go do our homework.’”

A renovated community space at the JFS Rose Canyon Safe Parking Program is helping families find comfort, connection and stability as they work toward permanent housing.

Two hundred San Diego families working to make ends meet now have presents to give their children thanks to a toy drive organized by Jewish Family Service of San Diego in collaboration with interfaith partners and community members.

“One in four San Diegans struggled with food insecurity even before the shutdown, and rising costs for housing, medical care, and childcare continue to strain household budgets,” said Tom Stewart with Jewish Family Service. “During our drive-through distributions, we heard from San Diegans who shared that the food they received helped free up limited income for other essential expenses like rent, medical costs, and childcare. Because that need has not gone away, we made the decision to continue these food distributions and open them to all members of the community.”

Jewish Family Service of San Diego held its first Joan Jacobs Signature Brunch recently at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine. More than 400 guests listened to Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actress Julianna Margulies — best known for her roles in “ER” and “The Good Wife” — speak about her career, upbringing, resilience and work with the Holocaust Educator School Partnership, an education program managed by the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.

The brunch celebrated the life of the late Joan Jacobs, community leader, philanthropist and lifelong supporter of Jewish Family Service.

Elaine Galinson was also honored with the inaugural Pauline Foster Leadership in Action Award. The event was chaired by Elissa Davis, Daryl Gelender and Sally Shaps.

December Nights returns to Balboa Park with hundreds of thousands expected to enjoy free museum access, live entertainment, and festive activities. Jewish Family Service of San Diego will play a key role through a special partnership with SDG&E to collect socks and underwear for people staying in JFS’s Safe Parking lots, supporting our community members during the holidays.

NBC 7 spotlights the ongoing impact of GivingTuesday donations and how it fuel essential programs across San Diego. The story highlights how Jewish Family Service is combating nutrition insecurity in San Diego, where 1 in 4 residents are food insecure. JFS delivers a critical lifeline by providing 900,000 meals every year to community members who might otherwise go without.

Jewish Family Service combatting hunger in the region. Elizabeth Alvarez stopped by Lieber`s Corner Market at Jewish Family Service’s Joan & Irwin Jacobs Campus in Kearny Mesa to see how the agency is serving the community.

San Diego Unified is expanding its support for students and families experiencing homelessness through a new partnership with Jewish Family Service of San Diego to operate a Safe Parking site. This collaboration strengthens the district’s comprehensive efforts to remove barriers, provide stability, and help every student thrive.

Members of the Tifereth Israel Synagogue Sisterhood volunteered at Jewish Family Service (JFS) San Diego on Wednesday, November 12, helping make challah for the Lieber’s Corner Market at the Balboa Avenue campus. Before beginning the challah braiding, Dates gave an overview of JFS’s mission and values. JFS partners with people of all backgrounds to build stable, dignified lives, creating a stronger and healthier community where everyone can thrive. Its guiding values include Justice (Tzedek), Hope (Tikvah), Community (Kehillah), Repairing the World (Tikkun Olam), Acts of Loving Kindness (Gemilut Chasadim), and Healing (R’fuah). Dates asked the volunteers if they knew the difference between hunger and food insecurity. “Hunger,” she explained, “is the physical discomfort caused by lack of food — that rumbling feeling in your stomach. Food insecurity is the lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life — a shortage of resources.”

For the past several weeks, Jewish Family Service has been ramping up its food distribution services to meet a growing need in the community since the government shutdown started last month. Tom Stewart with Jewish Family Service said since they started the Emergency Response Food Distribution Drive five weeks ago, they’ve seen a 30 to 40 percent increase in San Diegans using their food distribution resources.

Elizabeth volunteers at JFS’s Safe Parking Program.

Over the weekend, the federal government temporarily shut off funding for its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, leaving more than 42 million Americans uncertain about how they’ll be able to feed their families in the coming weeks.

When our community was impacted by the government shutdown, JFS immediately stepped up to ensure San Diegans were connected to critical support. Hear from Dana Toppel, JFS CEO, how we’ve been meeting the moment with compassion and action.

As millions of people prepare to lose their federal food assistance program benefits like SNAP — CalFresh in California — nonprofit organizations are already noticing the impact of the government shutdown on the community. 

“Today is our fourth week of our emergency response to this government shutdown,” Tom Stewart, the vice president of strategic integration at Jewish Family Service (JFS), told NBC 7. “We’re preparing this afternoon to be able to serve up to 200 households.” 

Stewart, along with about a half-dozen volunteers, was preparing boxes of fresh produce and canned goods for community members to come pick up at a drive-through distribution event. He added that they will host these Wednesday evening events at their Balboa Avenue location in Kearny Mesa until the shutdown ends. 

Jewish Family Service has distributed food weekly since shutdown started and is seeing many new faces. The non-profit expects even more with snap benefits delayed. San Diego is home to the highest military population in California, plus an additional 46,000 civilian federal workers, making the region particularly vulnerable to the effects of a federal shutdown. The organization has committed to providing community food distributions every Wednesday for as long as the shutdown continues, with each visitor receiving 40 pounds of food.

As the federal government shutdown continues, local organizations are stepping up to help military families and federal employees struggling to make ends meet.

Every Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m., volunteers at the Jewish Family Service of San Diego distribute free food to families in need through a drive-thru pickup program. Since the start of the shutdown, organizers say demand has surged. “So anyone who is impacted could be federal employees, military families, contractors, civilian workers — just anybody affected by this,” said Tom Stewart of Jewish Family Service. Stewart said the organization has seen a 42% increase in families using the drive-thru service in the past week.

Barring a quick end to the shutdown, many federal workers could miss a paycheck Friday, and November food benefits could be delayed to hundreds of thousands in San Diego County. Jewish Family Service has drive-thru food distributions for federal employees, contractors and their families impacted by the shutdown on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 6:00pm at its campus at 8804 Balboa Ave. in Kearny Mesa.

Federal workers are quietly seeking help—and bracing for deeper cuts as the shutdown enters its third week. San Diego County is home to thousands of people who have been furloughed or are working without pay during a budget impasse entering a third week with no end in sight. “I think we can handle one more pay period,” said the woman, who held the hand of her 3-year-old daughter as she walked to her car with a donated bag of groceries. “If it goes more than another paycheck, that’s when it’s going to hurt my family.” Their needs will strain an already struggling non-profit sector contending with budget cuts and inflation, while adding pressure to both parties in Washington to reach a resolution.