What began in the 1860s as a way to help orphans and the needy, has blossomed during the past 150 years to become Jewish Family Service of MetroWest, a comprehensive social service agency reaching more than 3,500 families each year. Today, the Agency's catchment area has grown to serve Essex, Morris, Sussex and parts of Union and Hudson Counties with offices in Florham Park, Livington and Jersey City as well as social workers placed in synagogues and senior care facilities throughout the community. 

JFS launched its celebration of its 150th year of service with the Annual Gala on June 3, 2010 and designed a new logo to reflect this milestone achievement.  The Agency has partnered with the Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest to create Past-Forward, an exhibit that showcases the many contributions of its leadership, volunteers and staff.  Past-Forward will be on display at the Alex Aidekman Family Jewish Community Campus from September 15 to November 17, before travelling to various community venues to coincide with JFS programming.

JFS acknowledges the generous underwriting support of the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey for its sponsorship of the Past-Forward exhibit and is pleased to recognize additional support from Hebrew Free Loan of New Jersey and the Rachel Coalition.

The Agency has planned other celebrations to mark its 150th Anniversary including:
The Joseph Goldberg Learning Disabilities Seminar, an open community program,  on November 11, 2010 at Millburn Middle School.
An event honoring the past presidents of JFS.
"Living Better: The Jewish Family Faces the Future," an open community forum, featuring keynote speaker Judith Viorst on May 4, 2011.
And the 150th Anniversary Gala on June 2, 2011.

Click here to read more about JFS's 150th anniversary celebration in the New Jersey Jewish News.

For more information about JFS's 150th Anniversary Celebration events, please contact Anita Millman at 973-765-9050 or amillman@jfsmetrowest.org.

Click here to watch a video about JFS and the work we do in the MetroWest community.

JFS: We Are Your Family from RMissel on Vimeo.

United Jewish Communities of MetroWest is offering free High Holiday tickets for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur for people who are new to the MetroWest community and who have not joined a synagogue.

The tickets are available through August 31 for new families and individuals in Morris, Essex, Sussex and northern Union Counties. Learn more at http://www.ujcnj.org/metropass or contact Stacey Brown at sbrown@ujcnj.org or 973-929-3027.

New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez sponsored the MOTHERS Act, which was signed into law on May 10 as part of the health insurance reform legislation passed by Congress in March.

From Sen. Menendez's website, "The legislation will establish a comprehensive federal commitment to combating postpartum depression through new research, education initiatives and voluntarily support service programs."

Read more about the MOTHERS Act here.

Would you like to... develop a group of Jewish friends, increase confidence & leadership skills, improve social skills and participate in social activities, all while having fun?  Then join Adult Chavurah!

JFS is now accepting registrations for Adult Chavurah, a unique group experience designed to strengthen Jewish identity and values. It's a small group of peers between the ages of 21-35, facilitated by a licensed clinical social worker to ensure personal attention and a positive experience.

Advance registration is required to participate. Monthly meetings begin on Monday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the West Orange JCC  in Room 185. Activities may include a movie night, game night, Shabbat dinner, an ongoing social action project and of course, pizza.

Monthly meeting session is $25 and additional activity fees may apply.

To register contact Margo Adelsberg at 973-637-1765 or madlesberg@jfsmetrowest.org.

This program is sponsored by Jewish Family Service, JCC MetroWest and MetroWest ABLE.

MetroWest HELPS is a United Jewish Appeal of MetroWest NJ supplemental funding initiative designed to actively address the needs of those affected by the ongoing economic crisis. Only a few months old, MetroWest HELPS is already having a serious impact on alleviating the suffering in the MetroWest Jewish community.
In the past three months, almost $350,000 in gifts has been raised by the MetroWest HELPS initiative. It is funding that has helped many of the partner agencies of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ increase staff and service hours, in response to the increase in caseloads and in the demand for their services by people who suddenly and unexpectedly find themselves unemployed, without health coverage, in danger of losing their homes, and suffering emotional distress and marital difficulties due to their economic circumstances.

In particular, two of UJC’s partner agencies — Jewish Vocational Service of MetroWest and Jewish Family Service of MetroWest — have confronted the most severe increases in the demand for services. From September 2008 to this January, JVS saw an increase in its caseloads of nearly 40%. JFS has experienced a similar increase.

It is only due to the funding supplied by MetroWest HELPS that the agencies have been able to meet the growth in demand. It is funding that goes to help people like these:

“Michael” was divorced two years ago and recently was laid off. Since then, his unemployment insurance has run out, and he has spent all of his savings. He is now having difficulty making his child support and alimony payments, as well as his own rent. Michael is also uninsured, no longer able to maintain COBRA payments, and he is struggling with depression and anxiety. He comes to JVS for job counseling, help with writing his resume, and assistance with seeking new job openings.

“Robert” and “Sue” have three children, the oldest of whom is 14, and are now both going through mid-career changes. Robert had been a freelance consultant in the tech industry, and Sue was a teacher. Both are currently unemployed. The stress in their home is intense. Their children are beginning to display social problems in school and are not sleeping regularly. The couple has begun couples counseling at JFS and may soon begin attending counseling for the entire family.

Every week, more and more people come with these and similar problems, and no one knows when things will turn around and start getting better.

It is only through the gifts supplied by the MetroWest HELPS initiative that people like “Michael,” “Robert,” and “Sue,” and everyone in the MetroWest Jewish community, can be certain of receiving the help they need. It is an uphill battle, but it is a challenge that must be faced.

March 19, 2009

Reuben Rotman and Betty Jampel consider ways to implement the $190,000 federal grant to help prevent homelessness in the MetroWest community.
The Jewish Family Service of MetroWest has been awarded a $190,000 federal grant for a homelessness prevention program.
The funds — included in the $410 billion Omnibus Spending Bill President Obama signed into law on March 11 — will enable the agency’s case management unit to expand its services to an increasing number of clients who risk losing their homes in both inner-city areas and the suburban towns of Essex County.
One half of JFS’ homeless clients are people of color from inner cities, said agency executive director Reuben Rotman. The other half are “Jewish people from the suburbs who are homeless or on the verge of homelessness.”
“We’ve had people walk in with an eviction notice,” said Rotman. “We’ve had people who could be three months away from an eviction notice. We’ve had people who have had to leave housing because their behaviors were unstable. And we have people who are in housing but can’t keep a job and have a lot of difficulties with relationships. They lead lives that are unstable. We stabilize their crisis.”
The earmark for JFS was shepherded into law by New Jersey’s Democratic U.S. senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, along with Democratic House members Donald Payne (Dist. 10) and Bill Pascrell (Dist. 8).
Diane Klein, associate director of planning and allocations at United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ, and Lori Price Abrams, director of the MetroWest Community Relations Committee, collaborated in the effort to win the funding.
Currently the JFS case management unit, which was formed two years ago with seed funds from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, deals with an array of challenges. Some of its clients are mentally ill, some are victims of the current economic crisis, and some are both.
‘Stronger now’ The unit’s original mission was to assist people with mental and emotional problems — many of whom have trouble finding work and affordable housing. “But now we need to extend our services so we can work with others as well,” said Rotman. He said that with the grant money, the agency will be able to serve another 100 clients by expanding case management services.
“Often our clients are unable to pay their bills, unable to pay their rent, unable to buy medication, and unable to pay their medical bills,” said Betty Jampel, coordinator of case management services at JFS. “We provide the funding to stabilize them in the short term, then help them to apply for benefits and entitlements and stabilize them for the future.”
Rotman said the case management unit represented “very strong foresight” on the part of JFS. “Had the case management unit not been in place when this recession hit, we would not have been as well-positioned as we are today to respond to the families coming in now who are impacted by the economic crisis. “We are so much stronger now because of that.”But, Jampel predicted, “things will absolutely get worse before they get better. Now we are seeing clients come in several months after going into foreclosure. They are still living in their homes and moving toward eviction. In the next few months, it is going to take a lot of concrete planning to keep them in their homes.”
Jampel has worked with both inner-city clients and members of a suburban synagogue. “
The Jewish community — as tight as it is — we are not used to leaning on each other,” she said. “Yes, in the synagogue there is a certain amount of community. But dealing with the economic issues, we’ve been very private, and I think that is going to need to change. The whole mentality of how we use the community to help us is going to have to change,” she said.

On Tuesday, December 1, Jewish Family Service of MetroWest held its annual appreciation dinner honoring the Friend Advocate Volunteers.  The Friend Advocate Volunteer program matches community members with elderly residents across Essex County to provide help with bill paying, completing applications, and reading mail as well as companionship.  More than 30 Friend Advocate Volunteers visit and communicate with their seniors each month, made possible by the generous funding of the Essex County Division of Senior Services.  For more information about becoming a Friend Advocate Volunteer or to receive help, contact Mandi Zucker at 973-765-9050 x275 or mzucker@jfsmetrowest.org.

On Wednesday, December 16, more than 40 Jewish seniors from Bayonne and Jersey City enjoyed an intergenerational Hanukkah party as part of the Chai Café Kosher Lunch program held at the Bayonne JCC.  Children from the Lauren Wendroff Early Enrichment Center sang Hanukkah songs, danced with the seniors and lit the menorah as Rabbi Robert Scheinberg from the United Synagogue of Hoboken played the guitar. 

The Chai Café is a kosher nutrition site for those 60 years and older, sponsored by the Jewish Family & Counseling Service (JF&CS) of Jersey City, Bayonne and Hoboken and made possible by the generous funding of the Hudson County Division on Aging.  Lunch is served Monday through Friday and the minimum suggested donation for meals is $2.  Kosher meals are also available for delivery for homebound seniors.  To make a reservation for the Chai Café, please contact 201-697-3355.

From left, Carol Klein and Deborah Kaplan, both of Bayonne, light the menorah with three and four-year-olds from the Lauren Wendroff Early Enrichment Center.