56 Friday, Mardi 24, 1978 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Federation Units Await Immigrant Influx Russian Jewish immig- rants have been coming to Detroit in 1978 in greater numbers than ever before. Detroit's Resettlement Service, a member agency of the Jewish Welfare Fed- eration supported by the Al- lied Jewish Campaign- Israel Emergency Fund, ex- pects to deal with one and a half times the number of Soviet immigrants it aided last year. The Detroit agency's experience is being felt by similar agencies in Jewish communities throughout the country. HIAS (Hebrew Immig- rant Aid Society), the umbrella agency for re- settling refugees, antici- pates assisting 10,000 Soviet immigrants in 1978, compared to 7,300 ' in 1977, of whom over 6,000 were settled in the U.S. "So far this year we've as- sisted 23 families with 60 persons," said Resettlement Service's casework super- visor Ruth Getz. "Last year we were averaging about' five new families a month." The heavy influx has made housing difficult. - "When a family arrives we like to have ready a dwelling, furnished, a first day's food in the re- frigerator, and a check for immediate living ex- penses," Mrs. Getz said. "There's a shortage of the less expensive apartments in the area in the best of times, and with this winter weather and inflation people don't seem to have been moving as much, so that there have been fewer vacancies." Resettlement Service tries to settle most of the the immigrants in a Jewish community "and A number of events preceeded this week's opening of the 1978 Allied Jewish Campaign. Shown in the top photograph, at the Food and Services Division cocktail reception, are Paula Borenstein of the Joint Distribution Committee, and from left, Irving Laker, Thomas I. Klein, Peter B. Copeland and Max Swan. In the second photograph, Drs. Howard A. Parven and Steven Glickman are shown at the Podiatrists Section breakfast. In the third photograph, at the Pharma- cists and Pharmaceutical Suppliers Section dinner, are, from left, Jerome Soble, guest speaker Daniel Bloch and Donald Fox. In the fourth photograph, at the Attorneys Section luncheon, are Lawrence tac- kier, Robert IL Naftaly, Paul D. Borman, Bloch, Barry Yaker and Milton Lucow. In the bottom photograph, in the last of a series of Campaign parlor meetings, are, center, guest speaker B.Z. Sobel with hosts Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell Jospey. they integrate well into Oak Park," Mrs. Getz said. "There's also a colony of adult Russians in the Eight Mile-Lahser area, and sev- eral families with children in Madison Heights near the Oakland Mall. It's dif- ficult to open up a new area even if one would be availa- ble because we don't want to isolate the first families who would go there. They are bused to English clas- ses at the main Jewish Community Center every day, so we have to consider the bus routes when we look for apartments. It would be too long a trip to have to go, say, from Madison Heights to Livonia. A second and costly bus route would be needed — an expense we want to avoid. "The immigrants begin English classes as soon as they move in," Mrs. Getz said. "When we have no housing and have to tem- porarily use motels, as we have had to for the first time this year, the resettlement process is hindered. The motels are not on the bus route and house-hunting is the priority, so learning English is delayed." The newcomers attend the classes until they learn enough English for a job, after which they can continue studying, as many do, in night classes. The Jewish Vocational Service, another Federa- tion agency, helps in the job hunt most of the re- fugees have jobs within three to six months. _ "Locally, there has re- cently been quite a demand for tool and die workers and those with engineering skills which a number of the Russians have," Mrs. Getz said. "Two or three firms where we've placed Russian immigrants have called and told us they'd be willing to have further referrals." School-age children are placed immediately in neighborhood public schools. They usually go into regular classrooms with other children their age, although the South- field school system has a special English tutor avail- able to provide extra help. Some parents have enrolled their children in one of the Jewish day schools. Once a Russian family is admitted to the United _States, HIAS decides where they might be settled and then approaches that com- munity to accept them. "They choose the community that they feel can absorb the family best or where their skills can be used," Mrs. Gets said. But the primary thing is family reunion. We try very hard to keep immediate family mem- bers — children, parents, brothers and sisters — in the same community. Where possible, cousins, aunts and uncles are also settled where their rela- tives are, depending on the status of our com- munity quotas and re- sources, including hous- li ing." English language classes at the Jewish Community Center are an important part of the acculturation Now that their numerous close relatives are coming, process for Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union. * * * the Resettlement Service is asking immigrants who pen during the rest of the rents mean that the re- have been here awhile to year," Mrs. Getz said. "It fugees will need a longer help settle the new arrivals. may continue this way, or period of support by the Sometimes those who have it may slow down. There agency until the wage ear- good incomes can provide are a lot of factors in- ners have sufficient income some financial support. volved; the rate at which to pay for rent, food; More often they are asked to immigrants arrive -here utilities, transportation and help the newcomers by find- really depends on the other expenses. ing housing, helping with rate at which they're pro- They tend to begin orientation to the commun- cessed by the State De- employment at lower start- ity and finding jobs. "On partment officials in ing salaries because it is the whole, they've re- Rome, and on quota their first job in a new coun- sponded very well to our call numbers available." try and it is difficult for for cooperation," Mrs. Getz Samuel Lerner, executive them to become financially said. independent if their rent director of Resettlement The Jewish Welfare Fed- Service, made a special plea and other living costs are eration member agencies — for the cooperation of high. A particular need including Jewish Family Jewish landlords in making exists for apartments that Service, Fresh Air Society, low-rental apartments av- will rent to families with United Hebrew Schools and ailable to the refugees. He children, since many of the Shiffman Clinic of Sinai noted that this is the families come with one or Hospital — have rallied to greatest problem the two children. help the newcomers. Dr. Max Winslow, presi- agency faces — the diffi- One problem facing the culty in finding two-and dent of Resettlement Ser- agency is that the number of three-bedroom apartments vice, asks that those land- immigrants who will arrive in the $225-250 rental lords who may have vacant in any given week or month range, in areas close to the apartments contact the is impossible to predict. Jewish community and ac- agency. The staff will work out the details of renting the "Although we've had a cessible to transportation. The agency will pay apartment. The Resettle- great number of families coming since Jan. 1, we slightly higher rentals, if ment Service can be called necessary, but the higher at 559-1500. can't tell what will hap- Students in Campaign Effort Metropolitan Detroit Jewish students are plan- ning a campus fund-raising effort on behalf of the Allied Jewish Campaign-Israel Emergency Fund. Larry Kritzer and Burt Kideclrel, members of the Wayne State University Hillel Foundation, are chairing the campus cam- paign, which will involve students at Oakland Com- munity College and Oak- land University as well as Wayne State. The campus campaign, in conjunction with Hillel at Wayne, is sponsoring sev- eral speakers during March and April. Dan Shueftan, of the Shiloakh Institute in Is- rael, spoke to the students March 13. A series of lec- tures on the Jewish com- munity of Detroit will fea- ture former Detroit City Council President Carl Levin April 11, Wayne State sociology professor Stanley Kupinsky April 19, and George M. Zeltzer, vice president of the Jewish Wel- fare Federation and chair- man of the Large City Budgeting Conference, April 25. April 3-7. Fifty percent of the proceeds from a book sale April 9-10 will go to the Campaign. The students' main effort will be telephone solicita- tion of 1,200 Jewish stu- dents at the three cam- puses. The telethon will begin April 16 and will con- tinue through May. Assisting with the Cam- paign are Pam Cutler, Cathy Dicker, Robin Friedman, Shelly Fried- man, Sue Gallup, Alan Gor- don, Sam Graybar, Alan Hurvitz, Ed Hurvitz, Ruth Indenbaum, Robert Kim- mel, Yocheved Klein, Laura Lazarus, David Rosen and Mark Sugarman. Adviser is Michelle Goldman. Hillel director is Rabbi Howard Addison, and assistant di- rector, Marcia Wagner. Education Group Meets Participating in the first meeting, March 12, of the new Jewish Welfare Federation Education Study Committee are, from left, Federation President Mar- The students are pre- tin E. Citrin, Federation Vice President and commit- paring materials about - tee chairman George M. Zeltzer, Dr. Sara Feinstein, a the Campaign which will Jewish educator from Chicago who is serving as con- be displayed in the sultant to the group, and Samuel Cohen, Federation's Wayne student center associate executive director.