The Office of Economic Opportunity, the federal agency based in Washington, has granted the Hasidic Corp. for Urban Concerns (HCUC) here $77,000 for a one-year survey of the needs of New York’s Jewish poor. Rabbi Sholom-Ber Gorodetsky, chairman of the newly formed HCUC, said he expected the funds to arrive by March 14. Rabbi Gorodetsky is chairman of the Crown Heights Community Corp. and a representative on the city’s Council Against Poverty.
The rest of the HCUC staff, as of now. consists of David Farber, a poverty worker and a special assistant in the Human Resources Administration, as executive director; a secretary; a bookkeeper, and two community aides. Rabbi Gorodetsky told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that while the new corporation was originally designed to emphasize the plight of hasidic Jews, it will also deal with the problems of the non-hasidic elderly.
While such problems as medical care and social security will be dealt with, the emphasis will be on poverty, he said. He noted that hasidic families, who earn only around $6-8,000 yearly, have large families because they reject birth control.
Referring to OEO regional director Angel F. Rivera and public affairs director Joel W. Barkan, Rabbi Gorodetsky remarked that “it is truly refreshing to observe that there are people in the vast government bureaucracy who are truly sensitive to the special needs of the Jewish community.” Farber added: “Although many direct service agencies are urgently needed for the Jewish community. It is nevertheless vital to finally receive a program whose main objective will be to ascertain the extent of Jewish participation or non-participation in existing services.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
