News & Impact

As a single mother with Multiple Sclerosis, Meira found that raising her daughter was becoming an increasing challenge. When she called JFCS, she was virtually homebound and was struggling with meal preparation and getting her daughter off to school. To complicate matters, Meira’s daughter had been diagnosed with a learning disability and Meira, unable to drive, did not know how she would get to the after-school specialist, let alone to her own medical appointments. People with disabilities often need assistance to help them achieve and maintain optimal levels of well-being and self-sufficiency. JFCS case managers start by completing a detailed… Read More

JFCS’ Gary Shupin Independent Living Community provides both residential and community based services to young adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities. The Shupin Social Club invites young adults from all over the Bay Area to come together to learn critical skills, socialize and feel a part of a vibrant community. Several times a month the members participate in organized activities such as bowling, karaoke, cooking classes and Jewish holiday celebrations. A group of 10 recently took a field trip to the California Academy of Sciences where they watched a performance by Horvitz Youth-Ability, a program for young adults with disabilities… Read More

Joe Amaroso will be the first to tell you that he is as surprised as anyone that he is still alive and kicking. He wasn’t supposed to be. HIV-positive for decades, Joe, now 68, was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS in 1993, a few years before the development of effective life-prolonging drug therapies. Joe Amoroso “I was in the hospital with a temperature of 104 – 105,” Joe says. “They packed me on ice. I’d made a will, bought a tombstone, and took care of my funeral arrangements.” As his health has waxed and waned over the past two decades, JFCS… Read More

A rising star in the high-tech world, Greg had a dream job that allowed him to provide a comfortable life for his family: Jewish day schools, summer camp, trips to Israel and Europe, and leadership roles in his synagogue. But all of that changed late last year, right around Hanukkah, when he had a cerebral hemorrhage at work. It was the last time he’d see his office … and experience the world as he knew it. “Our world collapsed,” says Leora, Greg’s wife. “I remember thinking, ‘Who will help us now?’ Then I answered my own question: JFCS.” Leora knew… Read More

The last thing Gillian remembered was crossing the street on a green light. When she woke up, she was in the ICU, hooked up to machines and in a body cast. Doctors told her she’d never walk again. “I cried for my mum,” Gillian recalls. “I wasn’t thinking straight. My mother had died years ago in Johannesburg.” After months in the hospital, Gillian tried to get back to her life. “But I couldn’t,” she says. “I was angry, confused, and paralyzed—literally and emotionally. I remember when a friend wheeled me into the JFCS building.  I felt at my lowest. I… Read More

By the time Jonah was 30, he’d had more than a dozen surgical procedures to treat Crohn’s disease, a chronic disorder that affects the gastrointestinal tract. The surgeries prevented his debilitating condition from worsening, but they didn’t cure him of it. Because of Crohn’s, he has been unable to have a career. “I was deeply depressed by the way my life was turning out,” he says. “Fortunately, a family friend told me about JFCS’ Disabilities Program. It has been a lifesaver. I’ve not only received emotional support, but also solid, practical guidance and other services that have kept me… Read More