Al Roadburg Foundation

Companionship is vital

By supporting the Al and Lola Roadburg Special Companion Endowment Fund at the Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation, community members can help ensure that more Louis Brier Home and Hospital residents receive the compassionate presence they deserve. (photo from LBJAF)

At the Louis Brier Home and Hospital, care is measured not only by clinical outcomes, but by moments of connection, dignity and compassionate human presence. It is often the quiet moments, rather than the clinical ones, that leave the greatest impact on a person’s quality of life.

Within a home where residents range in age from 40 to over 100, and where many live with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or complex geriatric health challenges, the smallest acts of care often carry the greatest meaning: a hand held during moments of confusion, a calming voice during agitation or a familiar presence that transforms uncertainty into comfort. A companion’s presence can mean the difference between fear and reassurance, confusion and grounding, isolation and connection. This is the heart of the Louis Brier Companion Program.

Companions at Louis Brier provide an essential layer of care support that extends far beyond what is publicly funded through government care. While essential medical services and daily care needs are covered, companions fill a critical gap in quality of life by offering something health care cannot always provide: time, consistency, emotional connection and genuine human presence.

Their role includes emotional reassurance, cognitive stimulation and one-on-one support, from mealtime assistance and accompaniment to medical appointments, to the gentle redirection of residents who may wander or become disoriented. Equally important, companions provide continuity of presence, particularly for residents experiencing isolation or those without family nearby.

One of the most meaningful yet often unseen contributions of companions is the preservation of personal dignity in daily care. While government-funded services may provide bathing support once per week, companions help residents maintain greater comfort, hygiene and well-being between scheduled care by offering additional personal support. These acts make a profound difference in how residents feel in their daily lives. These are not extras. Through these quiet, consistent moments, residents are reminded that they are seen not simply as patients, but as individuals with histories, preferences and inherent worth.

The Louis Brier Home and Hospital, together with the Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation, is grateful for the generous support of the Al Roadburg Foundation, which has established the Al and Lola Roadburg Special Companion Endowment Fund. This enduring contribution will help sustain and strengthen the Companion Program for generations to come.

Approximately 75 Louis Brier residents, notably those in extended care, have been identified as needing companion support. Because each resident’s needs vary, the number of hours required differs widely. The endowment is expected to provide approximately 3,000 hours of companion support each year, allowing more residents to receive it than otherwise would be possible.

While this extraordinary gift has transformed the program, it does not fully meet the growing need: demand continues to exceed available resources, and families are often left to make difficult choices. Some residents needing mealtime assistance may receive support for only one or two meals a day despite requiring help at all three. Many others would benefit from additional companion hours that provide emotional support and enhanced quality of life.

Louis Brier is recognized as a leader within British Columbia’s health-care community, with honours including Nonprofit Employer of Choice (2021-2025), Stars of Vancouver Awards (2021-2025), BC’s Top 100 Employers (2025, 2026) and Accreditation Canada’s Commendation Standing designation. These achievements reflect the home’s commitment to excellence, innovation and compassionate, person-centred care rooted in the Jewish values of chesed (lovingkindness), dignity and tikkun olam, the shared responsibility to care for one another and help repair the world.

Above all, the Companion Program reflects a simple yet profound truth: no one should experience aging alone. Every hour of companionship creates moments of comfort, connection and dignity that cannot be measured, yet are remembered. By supporting the Al and Lola Roadburg Special Companion Endowment Fund, community members can help ensure that more residents receive the compassionate presence they deserve.

For more information, visit thelouisbrierfoundation.com, email foundation@louisbrier.com or call 604-261-5550.

– Courtesy Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation

Tikva provides shelter

The Al and Lola Roadburg Residences – a place to call home. (photo by David J. Litvak)

Since moving to Vancouver from Winnipeg in 1991, I have moved approximately 30 times. Most of these moves have not been made by choice but, thanks to the good folks at Tikva Housing Society, I have hopefully made my last move in Vancouver.

I am a publicist/writer, and a mashgiach (kosher supervisor) at the Louis Brier Home and Hospital. Like many people here, I do not earn enough to own my own home. Living in a city where development is rampant is even challenging for renters, like me. We are at the mercy of the latest development, where, oftentimes, residences are torn down to accommodate new and more expensive apartments or condominiums (this has happened to me several times), or landlords, who give us notice to accommodate family members needing a place (which also has happened to me several times).

Since 2022, I have moved five times. However, my last two moves were much easier, thanks to Tikva Housing, which provided me with shelter and helped me navigate the challenging housing market.

I was familiar with Tikva but hadn’t wanted to reach out to them, except as a last resort. When I received two months’ notice in the dead of a freezing winter, during a COVID outbreak at my workplace, at a place I had been living for less than six months, I decided to contact them. I was desperate.

After I took the first step – signing up with the Jewish Housing Registry – I was informed that there was a suite available in a brand-new apartment building that had two floors of its nine storeys reserved for Tikva residents. I had to delay my move for a couple of months so that I could remain close to the Louis Brier for Pesach – as an observant Jew, I have to walk to places on Shabbat and holidays. Thankfully, friends put me up for those months and Tikva Housing saved the suite for me. Tikva even let me move some of my stuff in, though I wasn’t living there yet.

Once I moved into my apartment, I felt like I was living on a kibbutz. There were many familiar faces from the Jewish community living there. It was nice to see folks that I knew, including a colleague from work. The building itself was in a great location, not far from the Marine Gateway Canada Line station. Unfortunately, it turned out not to be a great location for me, because of its distance from the Louis Brier.

Even though this apartment didn’t end up working out, I was grateful to Tikva Housing for providing me with temporary shelter. I was even more grateful when a place became available in a 20-unit building in Kerrisdale that Tikva was able to purchase because of a $10 million donation from the Al Roadburg Foundation.

Not only did Tikva Housing Society find me this amazing apartment, but the staff did everything they could to make my move as painless as possible. I now have peace of mind, knowing that Tikva Housing is my landlord and I am no longer at the mercy of the city’s development. I love my new place. Hopefully, I will be able to call it home for a long time.

David J. Litvak is a prairie refugee from the North End of Winnipeg who is a freelance writer and publicist, and mashgiach at Louis Brier Home and Hospital. His articles have been published in the Forward, Globe and Mail and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. His website is cascadiapublicity.com.

Tikva gets new building

Al and Lola Roadburg (photo from Tikva Housing)

With the help of a $10 million donation from the Al Roadburg Foundation, a four-storey apartment building has been purchased that will allow Tikva Housing Society to offer more affordable housing in Vancouver’s Jewish community.

Situated on West 41st Avenue in the Kerrisdale neighbourhood, the 20-unit building will be home to nearly 30 individuals. Tikva currently provides housing solutions to more than 300 people, in 128 rental units in Vancouver and Richmond. With this recent addition and 20 new units in Burnaby to be completed by summer 2023, Tikva will expand its portfolio to 168 units in seven housing developments. However, the need for affordable housing is enormous – there are 302 applicants on the Jewish Housing Registry waiting for affordable homes, including 65 people with disabilities.

“This addition will be a huge step forward to providing more people with safe, secure and affordable homes,” said Anat Gogo, executive director at Tikva Housing Society. “The building was acquired through an extraordinary and unparalleled donation of $10 million by the Al Roadburg Foundation. It is the single largest donation received by Tikva and is critical to address housing insecurity.”

In gratitude for the donation, Tikva has named the building the Al and Lola Roadburg Residences.

“Secure housing is essential for individuals and families to thrive,” said Robert Matas, chair of the Al Roadburg Foundation. “We’re deeply honoured to be part of a broad network of Tikva Housing Society supporters who contribute to making housing within the Jewish community more accessible for individuals and families throughout Greater Vancouver.”

“By acquiring an existing apartment building, we are preserving a property that still has many years of life, rather than demolishing and building new,” added Alice Sundberg, director of housing development at Tikva. “Also, we are protecting rental affordability for the future. Al and Lola Roadburg Residences will be a long-term community asset protected from the pressures of our escalating real estate market.”

Al Roadburg (1913-2002) and Lola Roadburg (1922-2011) had a lifelong commitment to Israel and to Jewish organizations in Vancouver. The Al Roadburg Foundation aims to ensure their estates are used to create a legacy that benefits the community where they lived and raised their family.

– Courtesy Tikva Housing