Liza Gabay, 92, has met many people during the 25 years she has lived at the Golda Meir House.
And as one of the original residents of the federally-funded complex for older adults and handicapped persons, located on Prospect Ave., she said that is one of the things that “still makes it interesting to live” there.
One of 144 residents currently living at the Golda Meir House, and one of about 100 who speak only Russian, she spoke with The Chronicle through the facility’s service coordinator, Victoriya Rubinshteyn.
Gabay came to Milwaukee in 1980 from Riga in Latvia, a now independent country that was part of the former Soviet Union, to be with her daughter, who had moved here two years before.
In Riga, she said, she lived in a “terrible place” — a large apartment complex where entire families lived in single rooms and up to 20 families shared one kitchen.
When she arrived in Milwaukee, Gabay learned about the Golda Meir House through assistance she received from Jewish Family Services, and she has been content there ever since.
“I say thank you to America for this apartment every day,” she said.
This month, the Golda Meir House, which is owned by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and receives educational and social services through JFS, will celebrate its 25th year of existence with a special program and reception at the facility on Monday, Nov. 28, 5 p.m.
The event, according to Sarah Drilias, JFS associate director of development, will include speakers from the federation, piano and singing performances by current residents, and a dessert reception.
In addition, said Drilias, a framed proclamation from Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barett, declaring Nov. 28 as Golda Meir House Day, will be read and hung at the complex.
A community asset
Bill Orenstein served on the federation committee that planned the building of the Golda Meir House 25 years ago. He called the complex “an asset to the Jewish community and the community in general.”
At the time of its building, Orenstein said, the committee insisted on getting approval for a design that was beyond what federal regulations would normally allow, an eight-story concrete building including balconies facing the lake.
But, he said, the “design is deceptively simple.” The result is that although the building has been filled continually, it has “remained in remarkably good condition.”
In addition, he said, for even three times what it cost to build the complex in 1980, “we could not be able to replace it today.”
Though residency in the Golda Meir House is not restricted to Jews, Orenstein said that people recognized that naming the facility for Israel’s Milwaukee-raised prime minister is a “Jewish component” and “we still wound up with a good number of Jewish persons.”
They receive services from Rubinshteyn, a JFS employee who works at the complex full-time. She assists residents with all of their needs, including listening and understanding, she said.
Gabay is a very active resident of the facility who enjoys activities including Yiddish conversation classes, movie clubs, and various performances.
Though she said she has seen “a lot of changes” over the years in the complex, she said that one thing that has never varied is that she “always feels attention from JFS.”
“We would never have such apartments for the elderly in the former Soviet Union,” Gabay said. “I am very satisfied with living in this building.”
Loading ...