Honoring Holocaust Survivors on Yom HaShoah: Advancing Person-Centered, Trauma-Informed Care

On Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, we pause to honor the six million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust and to recognize the enduring strength, dignity, and resilience of Holocaust survivors living among us today. This solemn day is both a time of remembrance and a call to action, to ensure survivors receive the care, respect, and support they deserve.

ACL, through its Person-Centered, Trauma-Informed (PCTI) Care for Holocaust Survivors Program, is committed to meeting the unique and evolving needs of Holocaust survivors. Many survivors continue to live with the long-term effects of trauma, which can intensify with age, declining health, and social isolation.

ACL's PCTI initiative supports community-based organizations in delivering services grounded in dignity, choice, and cultural responsiveness. This approach recognizes that trauma is not only historical but ongoing in its impact, and care systems must adapt accordingly.

Through this program, and with the experience and leadership of the Jewish Federations of North America, ACL-funded providers deliver a continuum of safe and accessible services that reduce barriers to care and foster trust. Since the start of the program in 2015, over 500 PCTI projects have been implemented, serving 49,900 Holocaust survivors, 10,500 family caregivers, and 24,800 other older adults with histories of trauma.

"On Yom HaShoah, we join Holocaust survivors in keeping alive the memory of their loved ones killed in the Holocaust. Holocaust survivors today were children during the war. They are survivors of childhood trauma, and through our wonderful partnership with the Administration for Community Living, Holocaust survivors are teaching us how to provide person-centered, trauma-informed, compassionate services to people who carry trauma throughout their lives," said Shelley Rood Wernick from the Center on Aging, Trauma, and Holocaust Survivor Care at the Jewish Federations of North America

As the survivor population continues to age, the urgency to expand and sustain trauma-informed services grows. ACL remains dedicated to strengthening partnerships, advancing best practices, and ensuring that Holocaust survivors can age with dignity in their communities. For more information about ACL's Person-Centered, Trauma-Informed Care for Holocaust Survivors Program, please visit Person-Centered, Trauma-Informed Service.

Contact Stephanie Bostic at [email protected] with any questions.