Services are in place for Milwaukee Jews, but some may not be able to afford them

Demographically, Milwaukee’s Jewry fits the national profile when it comes to the high proportion of elderly people in the community.

According to “The 1996 Jewish Community Study of Greater Milwaukee” done by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, 19.9 percent of the local Jewish community is 65 or older, or about 5,055 people of a community of 25,400. This almost exactly matches the national proportion of about 20 percent.

Yet Milwaukee already has “a very good continuum of services provided by agencies and funded by the federation,” said Tobey Libber, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s planning and community services director, and may not face some of the potential crises awaiting other communities suggested by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency article.

“It is my sense that the Jewish elderly of Milwaukee have at their disposal a wide variety of health, social, recreational and rehabilitation services as well as assisted living offered by the Jewish community up and running and ready to go,” and with “multiple entry points,” he said.

Nita Corré, president of the Jewish Home and Care Center, agrees. “In Milwaukee, we have been able to provide for the future, because many people here understand that if we want to have services for the elderly, we have to invest in it,” she said.

For example, “this is the whole direction we are taking; the response for the need to helping people age in place we consider a prime responsibility of ours,” said Elliot Lubar, executive vice president of Jewish Family Services. He cited his agency’s Older Adult Service, Family Care care management unit and LinkAges programs as among the services available.

Libber also pointed to the variety of services offered by the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Home and Care Center.

Moreover, Libber wonders whether the “explosion” of growth in the elderly population will occur in Milwaukee, given that many local elderly leave the area for warmer climates. In fact, he said, a population study update the federation did in 2000 found that the Milwaukee area’s overall Jewish population is declining by about one percent per year.

Even though the elderly may constitute a higher percentage of the Milwaukee Jewish population, their numbers may remain the same, explained Libber, and available services therefore “won’t be overstrained.”

Still, some of the challenges seen nationally will affect people here, particularly when it comes to funding, according to observers.

Barbara Beckert, assistant director of the Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations, pointed out that some 40 percent of local Jewish community members over 65 have incomes under $25,000 a year — 23 percent under $15,000.

Moreover, Beckert pointed out that the JTA article doesn’t mention the elderly Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union. “Because of their language problems and inability to access support services independently, our community is challenged to provide them with the help they need,” she said.

Both Beckert and Corré pointed out that funds from the federal and state governments “are diminishing and not meeting the increased costs for care” for the elderly, said Corré.

Corré and Lubar both expressed concern about the situations of middle and lower-middle income elderly who are not well off enough to afford many of the services, like home care or assisted living care, but not poor enough to qualify for government assistance.