Who We Serve

Thanks for your support of Jewish Family Service. We wanted to share with you some end of the year highlights. These are in addition to the on-going professional work we do day in and day out as a licensed and accredited family service agency.

These recent highlights show something about our heart and soul. At JFS, the most vulnerable members of our community are treated with a dignity they don’t often find elsewhere.

Wouldn’t you want your father, sister or other loved one be treated this way?

1-Dignity

• S, a 50 year old woman, returned to our area after having moved away. Once upper middle class, she now found herself homeless and all alone. As night fell, S. was scared and did not know where she would spend the night. JFS met her and drove her to a local hotel, subsidized a room and has been working with her to find stable housing and employment.
• JFS just completed co-leading a training program for community volunteers willing to be shomrim-or guardians of our dead. A beautiful Jewish tradition teaches us that our souls do not depart our bodies immediately upon death. Therefore shomrim or guardians read psalms and sit with the deceased until burial to keep the souls company.

JFS stands for dignity in both life and in death!

2-Making Holiday’s Brighter

JFS helped community members celebrate the Holidays.
In addition to distributing dozens of toys and games to children who might not otherwise have had new presents for the Holidays, JFS also hosted a Hanukah party for Holocaust Survivors. As the candles burned and the prayers were said, latkes were eaten and stories were told. They spoke of Hanukahs long ago in a different time and a different place. It is a world that is lost, but as long as there are still survivors and memories, JFS remains committed.

3-Advocacy for Families Caught in a Political Nightmare.

RUSSIAN ADOPTIONS- JFS is presently working with many families who hoped to adopt children from Russia. Most of the children had already visited the families here in Connecticut and many of the families had already traveled to Russia. Suddenly Russia closed its doors to American adoptions leaving too many families broken hearted. JFS has been advocating with our senators and congressmen as well as educating the Connecticut press about the plight of local families.

4- Responding to Community Emergencies

NEWTOWN- Seven JFS professionals recently went to the synagogue in Newtown to meet with the 50 children in the Hebrew School. JFS staff led a creative movement/guided imagery program which was fun for the children and allowed staff the opportunity to meet the students in a non-threatening environment. JFS is now talking with the Rabbi and Board of Directors of the synagogue to customize programs to specifically meet their needs.

Thank you for your support! We hope that you agree that JFS is living up to its mission of improving the quality of life in our community.

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