BACKGROUND Let the Golden Years Recent immigrants from Eastern Europe look forward to living in freedom. be the Happy Years. The later years of life should be fulfilling, relaxing — free of stress and strain. You could be assured your loved one is in good care if you could always be there. But you can't. Call Progressive Care when you can't be there. Progressive Care is a professional private duty health care service dedicated to assisting your loved ones in your absence. Progressive Care offers: ■ Registered Nurses ■ Nurses Aides ■ Licensed Practical Nurses ■ Physical therapists ■ Occupational therapists ■ Male attendants ■ Live-ins ■ Companions Progressive Care offers experienced personnel who serve in homes, hospitals, senior housing facilities and nursing homes. Our personnel is sen- sitive to. Jewish traditions and customs and is better prepared to assist your loved ones by not only meeting their clinical requirements, but also their personal and spiritual needs. Contact Progressive Care at (313) 273-2005. PROGRESSIVE CARE Progressive Care is an affiliate of Comprehensive Aging Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Jewish Home Aging Services. THERE'S NO OTHER WAY OF PUTTING IT. CLOTHES ENCOUNTERS HAS THE COOLEST CLOTHES IN TOWN. CHECK THEM OUT . . . YOU'LL SEE WHY! , cLOTHEs ENCOUNTERS 33306 Grand River E. of Farmington Road Downtown Farmington 471-5620 fl,INAL CLEARANCE Selected Items 2/$22.00 Values to '75.00 AFFORDABLE CLOTHING • ACCEPTABL Y DIFFERENT 34 FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 1989 plates of caviar and other Russian delicacies, along with a rapidly dwindling bot- tle of Absolut vodka. In keep- ing with the Russian tradi- tion, the empty bottle is plac- ed on its side beneath the table, a signal for the waiter to bring out more of the favored beverage. As the band launches into a loud disco number, Sirotin says he will write to his relatives back in Moscow about the visitor who is preparing an article about Russian Jewish life in Brighton Beach. Glasnost aside, he assumes his letters of life in America are still screened by Soviet authorities. "So the KGB will know all about you," he says, as an impish smile slides across his face. His son, whom Sirotin affec- tionately calls Sasha, leans across the table, shaking his head. After Sasha's parents were divorced in Moscow, he was raised by his mother who moved to Warsaw. He came to live with his father in Brighton Beach two years ago, and now thinks Sirotin is acting just a little too paranoid. "Even in Russia, there aren't enough people to read all the letters," he says, laughing. The scene at the Shorefront Y on a wet and blustery Sun- day morning seems far removed from the boisterous Metropol dance floor the night before. A community rummage sale is taking place inside the gym on the main floor, with tables of dish towels, kitchen gadgets, clothing and other articles spread out for the mostly elderly browsers. Upstairs, Ketty Karmazin is meeting with a young cou- ple who has arrived from the Soviet Union only a few months earlier. Karmazin, the Jewish outreach coor- dinator for the Y's Project ARI, asks the couple's 5-year- old daughter if she would like to learn more about Judaism in a youth program offered at the Y. "No, I don't want to do that," says the girl, her voice trailing off as she wanders out of Karmazin's little office. "Why not?" wonders Kar- mazin, raising her voice so the child can still hear her. "Don't you want to learn about the Jewish people, about your religion?" But the girl has already disappeared down the hall. Her parents can only offer shy, apologetic grins as Karmazin turns her attention back toward them. Project ARI provides a variety of social services to Russian Jews, including child care, job assistance and help in sorting out government benefit programs. They Y also runs English classes that are mainly aimed at helping im- migrants in employment situations. In addition, there are "acculturation" classes designed to help Russian Jews familiarize themselves with Jewish life in America. Pauline Bilus, the project director, says the program helps about 1,500 people each month. But she also knows that the needs of the large im- migrant community far outstrip available resources. "We're making a little pro- gress, but it's only been a dent," she says. Part of the problem is a shrinking pool of money to pay for immigration assistance in areas like Brighton Beach. The federal government has scaled back its refugee aid programs, in- cluding those targeted to Soviet Jews. And in New York and elsewhere, fund-raising campaigns at Jewish federa- tions have been leveling off, creating additional squeezes on immigration efforts that rely heavily on private philanthropy. The timing of the budget cutbacks could not be worse. The number of Jews allowed to leave the Soviet Union slowed to a trickle in the ear- ly 1980s, but is now on the