JFCS Spotlight - October 2023

Imagine you are disabled, alone, and unable to provide for yourself. You barely get by and do not have friends or ways to socialize. You are left to your own devices, without loved ones nearby to help you. This describes the living situation for many of the 430+ homebound seniors that JFCS serves. It is difficult to witness our most frail seniors decline in capacity and ability to care for themselves, and it is our honor and duty to make sure they can live with health and dignity in the comfort of their own homes for as long as possible.

One of our core values at JFCS is making sure seniors in our community can thrive. A key element to this is providing socialization programs to our homebound seniors. Every senior we serve has access to our Friendly Visitors (who visit them in their home), Telephone Reassurance volunteers (who call them on the phone to chat), Cooking Companions (where a volunteer shares a meal with an older adult), and, for our Holocaust Survivors, Café Europa (a bi-monthly luncheon that includes professional entertainment). These essential programs provide a sense of belonging, normalcy, and connection they would otherwise not have.

Earlier this year, we matched one of our elderly clients with a Friendly Visitor. She had an aide who came over several times a week, but she did not have anyone in her life to spend leisure time with and engage in entertaining activities. After their first visit together, we were told that the two got along wonderfully. They made each other laugh, talked about cooking, and discovered that they both loved Snoopy! The volunteer visitor and older adult had a fantastic time together and have continued to meet once a week, sharing stories, connecting, and bringing joy into each other's lives.

As human beings, we strive for connections — for ways to relate to those around us and create meaningful relationships. Our socialization programs bring this, and so much more, to the lives of our homebound clients.

Dear Friends,

As you may have already surmised, the piece above was written in early October, before our world turned upside down and each of us, at JFCS, confronted our personal and profound shock and grief. We quickly began to triage the impact of October 7th on all of our clients, agency-wide, while continuing to do all of our day to day work, serving thousands with mental health services, case management, emergency assistance, food insecurity services, and more.

Regarding our seniors, our care managers called all of our active clients – more than four hundred, to offer support and assess for any new needs because of the emotional trauma that the news from Israel may be causing. We were most concerned about our Holocaust survivors and immediately organized support groups for them, both in person and virtual, and we are keeping a close eye on anyone we perceive as being particularly vulnerable.

Throughout JFCS, we are responding to heightened anxiety and trauma among existing clients, and we are keeping up with a growing number of referrals in every service area. We are laser-focused on the need for support groups we’ve never imagined needing, and we’re working hard to attend to the new and emerging needs of our Israeli community. We are here to support our rabbis and their congregations, and our schools and their faculties and families. We are also hearing from individuals and families who are coming to Northern New Jersey from Israel and have questions and needs regarding temporary resettlement.

While we are going through a uniquely troubling time, JFCS always stands strong and ready to serve.

Please let us know if you or anyone you love needs help.

With abundant hope,

Susan