UP FRONT
Detroit Jewish News
Buys Atlanta Paper
Daniel M. Rosen
Pearl Axelrod discusses rents with Phyllis Herzig and Lorene Parshall.
Ann Arbor Will Create
Shared Living For Elderly
SUSAN LUDMER-GLIEBE
Special to The Jewish News
T
he Housing Bureau for
Seniors and the Jew-
ish Community Asso-
ciation/United Jewish Appeal
in Ann Arbor are putting the
final touches on a contract
that will establish a shared
apartments program for Ann
Arbor senior citizens.
The program is based on
the Group Apartments for the
Elderly program run by the
Jewish Family Service in-
Southfield. According to Lori
Parshall, co-ordinator, the
program will provide a shar-
ing atmosphere of social life
with assistance in the more
strenuous physical aspects of
maintaining a home.
Each resident in the pro-
gram will share a three-
bedroom, two-bath apartment
with two other Jewish
seniors. Food and utilities will
be included in the cost of the
program, along with the ser-
vices of a part-time house-
keeper who will be responsi-
ble for most of the cooking,
cleaning, shopping and laun-
dry. A social worker will meet
regularly with the partici-
pants and the housekeeper.
"We hope to create a nor-
mal family life," explains
Parshall.
Phyllis G. Herzig, a
geriatric social worker and
chairwoman of the UJA/JCA
Task Force on the Elderly,
believes the program can
combine the best of two
worlds. "It gives people the
opportunity to utilize the
strengths they have and
share them with others and
not feel their own losses as
much.
The shared apartment will
be close to the Washtenaw
Jewish Community Center,
Ann Arbor synagogues and
transportation.
The proposed housing pro-
gram is consistent with two
priority goals established by
the JCA/UJA last spring: pro-
grams for the elderly and pro-
grams for strengthening
Jewish identity, education
and affiliation. "If you give
Three Jewish
seniors will share
a three-bedroom
apartment, a part-
time housekeeper
and a social
worker.
people the Jewish (social)
component at this point in
their lives, it rekindles the
religious component," says
Herzig.
Jeff Scheckner, of the Coun-
cil of Jewish Federations in
New York, estimates that 18
percent of American Jews are
age 65 or older, compared to
13 percent for the general
population. Ann Arbor has an
estimated 300 Jews over age
60.
The JCA/UJA has allocated
$5,600 towards the program.
Participating seniors will pay
an entrance fee and a mon-
thly fee that will cover rent,
food, utilities and the
housekeeper's salary. The an-
nual cost per participant is an
estimated $11,000.
Because the program is just
getting off the ground no one
knows how many elderly
might eventually participate
in the shared living arrange-
ment or the exact make-up of
the program. "We have to be
flexible and see how it
evolves," says Pearl Axelrod,
counselor at the HBFS and
member of the Task Force on
the Elderly.
Simple demographics — the
American population is aging
— indicate that the timing
and overall concept of the pro-
gram are appropriate.
"There's no place (in Ann Ar-
bor) that is known for the
Jewish elderly," says Axelrod.
At present, Jewish seniors
who require full residential
care, including long term
medical care, go to Darlington
House in Toledo, Ohio. For
those who need less than full
care the choices are few.
"There's some senior hous-
ing but there are long waiting
lists and few places that
might be called retirement
centers," says Axelrod. Some
of the area retirement homes,
like the Chelsea United
Methodist home are church
affiliated. Ann Arbor proper
has very few places specifical-
ly for the elderly.
"There's a great need for
places for those who remain
on their own but need some
services," explains Axelrod.
The concept of shared living
addresses one of the major
problems facing the elderly
that goes beyond bricks and
mortar: isolation. "With this
program you're living with
others; you're not alone," says
Axelrod.
❑
The Detroit Jewish News
this week purchased the
Atlanta Jewish Times, a
64-year-old newspaper
formerly known as the
Southern Israelite. Charles A.
Buerger, who also publishes
the Baltimore Jewish Times
and The Jewish News in
Detroit, will serve as
publisher.
Buerger announced that
Gary Rosenblatt, editor of the
Detroit and Baltimore papers,
will serve as executive editor
of the Atlanta Jewish Times;
Arthur M. Horwitz, associate
publisher of The Detroit
Jewish News and marketing
director of the Baltimore
Jewish Times, will be
marketing director; Sylvia
Stafford, business manager of
the Baltimore Jewish Times,
will be business manager;
and Kim Mueller-Thym, art
director of the Baltimore
paper, will be art director.
Jeff Rubin, Vida Goldgar
and Fran Rothbard will con-
tinue to oversee the day-to-
day operations of the Atlanta
Jewish Times as associate
publisher, editor and manag-
ing editor respectively.
Negotiations began last
month, according to Stephen
F. Rose, president of Sun
Publications, following an in-
quiry from Buerger.
"We have mixed feelings
about selling the Atlanta
Jewish Times," Rose said.
"We believe we have added a
lot to this newspaper, and
hopefully, to the Jewish com-
munity of Atlanta, as well.
However, there is no doubt
that leaving this newspaper
in the hands of the largest
and best Jewish newspaper
group in America can result
in an even better newspaper.
And Atlanta deserves
nothing less than the best."
Rose, who also publishes
the Kansas City Jewish
Chronicle, purchased the
newspaper, then known as the
Southern Israelite, from Vida
Goldgar three years.
Rosenblatt said the new
ownership group intends to
increase community coverage
as well as national, interna-
tional and Middle East repor-
ting and analysis.
"The Atlanta Jewish Times
combines a proud tradition
and a contemporary outlook,
and we hope to build on its
strengths," he said. Two of its
editorial staff members
recently received first-place
honors from the American
Jewish Press Association as
part of the annual Brandeis
University-administered
Rockower competition.
Buerger said the addition of
the Atlanta Jewish Times will
provide the Detroit and
Baltimore papers with a new
base of writers, columnists
and photographers, enabling
both to further expand and
improve their respective
editorial content.
ROUND UP
Film Archive
Celebrates 20th
He used to tease his sister
by cutting off her dolls' heads
and serving them on a bed of
lettuce.
Now, Steven Spielberg is
one of the top directors in
Hollywood and the namesake
of an extensive collection of
rare Jewish and Israeli films.
The Steven Spielberg
Jewish Film Archive at the
Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, which is ad-
ministered by the university's
Institute of Contemporary
Jewry and the World Zionist
Organization's department of
information, is celebrating its
20th anniversary by giving a
gift to the United States. The
Harvard College Library,
which recently was
designated U.S. depository for
the Spielberg Archive, is
videotaping for its collection
a number of the institute's
11111111111111111
1111111111111111
A scene from the 1932 film
"Yiddle Mit A Fiddle."
more than 4,000 films.
Included in the archive are
films showing the building of
early settlements in Israel,
the 1961 trial of Nazi Adolf
Eichmann and the dedication
in 1925 of the Hebrew
University on Mount Scopus.
The archive, the largest
repository of films of Jewish
content and interest in the
world, also owns the only
known color film of Hitler,
Mussolini and the Nazi
general staff together.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
5