Jewish businessman offers home and jobs to couple ‘left with nothing’ after Kay’s fire
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Jewish businessman offers home and jobs to couple ‘left with nothing’ after Kay’s fire

Larry Berkowitz of Bluebird Care stepped in to help a pair who were left 'sleeping on the streets', following the devastating blaze last Sunday

Sil and Riv with Larry on the right, as they move into their new home
Sil and Riv with Larry on the right, as they move into their new home

The Jewish owner of a care provider in Barnet has housed a couple left homeless after the fire at Kay’s kosher deli in Golders Green, and has given them both jobs.

Larry Berkowitz of Bluebird Care stepped in after hearing that the couple, Sil and Riv  both in their 20s, had been “left with nothing” and “sleeping on the streets,” with one sleeping on a bench and the other sleeping underneath it.

“I heard about it on Facebook,” said Berkowitz, whose company provides home-care across the borough. “Luckily we had a flat vacant so we’ve given that to them for a month or two, rent-free, until they find their feet, and we have also given them both jobs, as they were looking for employment when the fire broke out.”

Larry (right) with Sil and Riv in their new home
Larry (right) with Sil and Riv in their new home

The arrangements were being hastily made on Thursday, after Berkowitz heard about the couple’s plight on Wednesday evening.

“We understand that they weren’t insured, so they’ve lost everything,” he said. “There’s a local fund-raising effort underway to help them replace lost furniture and goods. Hopefully the jobs should help them too. We’ll start their training next week.”

No-one was hurt in the fire at Kay’s Deli on Sunday, but another couple lost their three-year old dog Daisy, after she raised the alarm. The cause of the blaze, on Princes Parade, Golders Green Road, is as yet unknown.

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: