“He who saves just one life, saves the world entire.” The Talmud
JFS had been working with the Zubris family of four who arrived a few months ago from Kherson, a city in the Ukraine that was under attack. They were in need of temporary housing and JFS CEO, Tanja Demajo inquired about potential rentals available with Board member, Shannon Gorski’s family-owned property management company, Belmont Properties. This got Shannon thinking and when she approached the Managers at Belmont Properties they offered to help with housing the family by donating a fully subsidized suite for up to four months.
Meet the Zubris Family
Alexander, Artem (5), Sophie (12) and Katrina
The Zubris Family is extremely grateful for the help that they have received from JFS, Belmont Properties, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and for the chance to connect them to the larger community.
[Photo caption: Condos.ca]
A Special Appeal
“In light of World Homelessness Action Week earlier this month, October 9-16, I would like to invite other families who have rental properties to act now and match Belmont’s offer of donating a suite so we can help JFS provide much needed temporary housing for another 5-10 Ukrainian families,” says Shannon Gorski. “Rentals are not easy to come by and even if Belmont has the desire to help a family settle with months of fully subsidized rent, it’s hard to commit to available suites especially during this time. In the spirit of tikkun olam, let’s come together and see what we can do.”
To learn more about how you can help, please contact Josephine Enobong, Social Services Coordinator by email or by calling 604-257-5151.
Next month we look forward to sharing outcomes from our open forum held at the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House aimed at learning more about the housing challenges faced by people in our community.