News & Impact

One of our most cherished volunteers, Dr. Larry Hill recalls that he first became intimately acquainted with JFCS eight years ago when he picked up a brochure at Congregation Emanu-El after services one evening, called the number on the back, and asked if there was a role for him. His timing could not have been more fortuitous. JFCS’ Redwing Keyssar, the director of our Palliative Care and End of Life program, had just begun asking her contacts if they knew a doctor who could help. At the time the program was still in its planning stages and she saw the… Read More

Adolescence is a time when children and parents begin to spend less time together. It is a time when teens begin to develop their independence, understand their place in the world, and begin to work out their own values and beliefs. It can be especially challenging to connect with teens who may seem like they don’t want anything to do with you. And with busy schedules it can be all too easy to share the same space with another family member without really connecting. Your child still needs a strong relationship with you to feel safe and secure as they… Read More

From the first day of life humans are social beings. Upon a separation from a caregiver a baby rightfully senses danger and their nervous system pumps hormones, cortisol, and adrenaline through the body to activate the flight or fight response. Separation anxiety at this age of development is not just common, but expected. While the purpose and function of anxiety is to trigger our nervous system to respond, adapt, and survive a dangerous situation, our response systems can misfire. We can cause a “false alarm” to our nervous system when we misperceive an experience or situation as dangerous when it… Read More

Increasingly we rely on technology, email, voicemail, Facebook, Snapchat, and texting to communicate with others. It is not uncommon for groups of children and teens to gather for a social outing only to be found looking at their phones and not at one another. Our level of engagement and the way we spend time with one another is changing rapidly and with great consequences. One of the main reasons young children held my attention for decades is because of their keen ability to engage us with creative, entertaining, and very humorous, conversation. The way that children weave their colorful stories… Read More

Jewish Family and Children’s Services has a new mailing address in San Francisco. We have not moved, but if you are mailing anything to our offices in San Francisco, please be sure to use the P.O. Box address that is required by the Post Office. If you send something to our street address, it will not reach us. Mailing Address: Jewish Family & Children’s Services P.O. Box 159004 San Francisco, CA 94115 – Physical Address: The Miriam Schultz Grunfeld Professional Building 2150 Post Street San Francisco, CA… Read More

Eugene and Elinor Friend set an incredible example of philanthropy for their children. Through their involvement with various organizations in the community, they showed their deep connection to their home and their heritage. Their story spans more than a century. As an Eastern European Jewish immigrant in New York City around the end of the19th century, Gene’s father was drawn to the western frontier, a place without barriers or discrimination. Elly moved to California from El Paso, Texas and met Gene while attending UC Berkeley. They married in 1940 and started a family. Though the two shared a passion for… Read More