Lovena Galyide, left, and Polina Gruzinov took part in Tikva Housing’s recent fundraising campaign. (photo from Tikva Housing)
Polina Gruzinov sits in her Richmond apartment surrounded by photos of loved ones and artwork made by her daughter, Lovena Galyide, who lives in the same building just a few floors above her.
At 87, Gruzinov is living independently. “I have always dreamed of having a place of my own,” she said.
Born to a Jewish family in eastern Ukraine in 1939, Gruzinov was just 2 years old when her family fled advancing Nazi forces during the Second World War. Her mother came from Novo-Kovno, a Jewish agricultural colony, and neighbours had warned the family that Jews were in danger as the occupation approached.
“The only thing I still remember is when we were evacuating by train; it was shelled, and it was very loud,” she said.
That traumatic displacement began a journey that would take her family thousands of kilometres across the Soviet Union into Central Asia, where her mother worked in a hospital. During those years, Gruzinov’s father died in battle and her younger brother disappeared while attending boarding school in Kazakhstan.
After the war, stability remained elusive. When the family returned to Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, much of the city had been destroyed. Promised housing never materialized, and Gruzinov’s mother settled for a tiny apartment where the family shared cramped quarters with another woman and her child.
Gruzinov says she and her mother rarely discussed the suffering they experienced during the war years.
“The Holocaust wasn’t really talked about,” she said.
For Talia Mastai, associate managing director of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre – which has documented the testimonies of hundreds of Holocaust survivors in British Columbia – stories like Gruzinov’s are an important reminder of the varied experiences of survivors.
“It wasn’t just limited to people in camps, people who were in hiding or people who were rescued,” Mastai said.
In the years that followed, Gruzinov built a career in telemechanics, married and gave birth to her daughter. Yet secure housing remained difficult to find. At one point, she lived with her husband, daughter, mother and aunt in just 20 square metres of living space.
The family later moved to Chechen-Ingushetia for her husband’s work assignment, where they lived in harsh conditions without many basic comforts. From their small temporary hut, they had to walk far to fetch water from a well, and heated the home with coal and wood.
“I couldn’t even let the child crawl on the floor,” she said.
Gruzinov eventually returned to Dnepropetrovsk and the marriage to her husband ended.
On her own, she continued to work while raising her daughter and caring for her mother. Then, in retirement, worsening economic conditions following the collapse of the Soviet Union forced her to consider a new life elsewhere.
“The situation in Ukraine was very difficult,” she said. “The pension was small; it wasn’t enough to live on. At that time, all the shelves were empty.”
In 1995, Gruzinov immigrated to Israel, settling in Ashkelon, about 20 kilometres from Gaza. Although she eventually moved into a retirement residence, instability remained part of daily life. From her window, she could see explosions in the distance during periods of conflict.
When her daughter settled in Vancouver, Gruzinov followed, arriving in Canada in 2016. But the high cost of living in Metro Vancouver meant the family’s housing struggles continued.
“When Mom came to Canada, I gave her my bedroom. The second bedroom was for my son, and I was sleeping in the living room,” Galyide said. “This was very tight for us, but rent was so expensive that I could not afford something bigger.”
Gruzinov continued to hope for a place of her own and, the following year, that dream became reality when she secured an apartment with Tikva Housing, which provides affordable housing solutions for Jewish individuals and families across Metro Vancouver. Today, Gruzinov lives independently in one of Tikva’s buildings, with her daughter close by and a renewed connection to the Jewish community.
“It’s very nice to have my own space but also having my daughter living in the same building,” she said.
Gruzinov is one of several Holocaust survivors supported by Tikva, where assistance from the Azrieli Foundation helps ensure they can age with dignity, financial security and connection.
“For many Holocaust survivors, housing stability is not something that can be taken for granted. Affordable housing allows them to remain connected to their communities and access the support they need,” said Anat Gogo, executive director of Tikva Housing, which owns 213 affordable units in eight buildings across Metro Vancouver and operates a rent relief program that provides short-term subsidies to people experiencing temporary financial crisis.
“Many survivors have experienced profound loss and displacement. While we cannot change what they endured, we can help ensure they have comfort, housing security and community in their later years,” said Gogo.
In 2025, Tikva first received funding from the Azrieli Foundation to support Holocaust survivors living in its housing units, helping the organization maintain significant rental subsidies in one of North America’s least affordable markets.
The initiative is part of the Azrieli Foundation’s broader commitment to supporting low-income Holocaust survivors across Canada. In addition to Vancouver, the foundation supports housing programs in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, working with local agencies that already serve survivors in their communities.
For Naomi Azrieli, chair of the Azrieli Foundation, those partnerships are essential.
“We always want to work with the trusted local agencies that are already there doing the work,” Azrieli said. “They know how best to respond to the specific needs of the populations they serve and they really help us maximize the impact of our funding.”
Azrieli has a deep understanding of the experiences of Holocaust survivors. Her own father, David Azrieli, has a story with remarkable similarities to that of Gruzinov and her family. Born in Poland, he fled to the USSR and eventually to Central Asia in 1941, shortly after the Nazi invasion – and he lived in Israel before building a successful international enterprise in Canada and Israel.
An equally ambitious philanthropist, in 1989 he established the Azrieli Foundation, which supports education, healthcare and research, Jewish life, the arts and Holocaust commemoration.
“He always remembered the people who helped him along the way and, as a result, his legacy really highlights how resilience can pair with responsibility,” said Azrieli.
Last year, the Azrieli Foundation provided financial support to well over 1,600 low-income Holocaust survivors. Nearly 30% of the survivors helped were over the age of 90 – an age when housing stability, access to care and community connection become increasingly important.
Azrieli emphasized that the support is not charity.
“It is a reflection of respect and responsibility. It is because of our gratitude for all that survivors have endured and all that they have contributed,” she said. “They deserve care, they deserve dignity and they deserve to live in comfort today and always.”
In 2026, Tikva’s initiative expanded through a partnership with Jewish Family Services Vancouver, a Claims Conference partner organization, to identify Holocaust survivors living in market rentals who could benefit from additional support.
“Supporting survivors means ensuring they have access to the services and relationships they need to age with dignity,” said Tanja Demajo, executive director of JFS, which supports more than 160 Holocaust survivors through care management, financial assistance, home support, advocacy and social programs. “Remembrance is important, but so is responding to the realities survivors face today,” she said.
“What’s most meaningful for me,” said Galyide, “is that my mom struggled all her life, and now, at this moment, she is really happy.”
– Courtesy Tikva Housing