First Community Connections Program Offers Summer Songs
The first official event of Community Connections Program was a joyful gathering of 37 people at Rockwood Place. Singers Larissa Khadha and Inessa Suhavova entertained guests with songs in Russian, Ukrainian and English. Sholom provided snacks. Many attendees were from Rockwood, while others joined from Graham Place, providing an opportunity to visit with others who may not be building neighbors.
This successful event was followed by a trip to Stillwater. Thirty participants enjoyed a lunch on a cruise followed by a tram narrated tram tour translated in Russian by Community Connections coordinator Adel Kuchyk, assisted by Nina Afremov, a Russian-speaking volunteer.
Community Connections is a program funded by a grant from Jewish Federations of North America’s Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and Institute on Aging and Trauma (JFNA) to increase social and community connections for Russian-speaking older adults with a history of trauma in the East Metro, many of whom are Holocaust survivors.
Through these connections, the program will help connect people to communities and supportive resources including trauma-informed mental health care and social and cultural activities.
Community Connections programs are free and open to Russian speaking seniors in the East Metro.