News & Impact

My name is Iryna, and I’m from Odesa, Ukraine. I came to the United States in 2022 with my 9-year-old daughter, fleeing the war with nothing but hope—hope to find safety and the strength to rebuild our lives from scratch. The first months were frightening and deeply isolating. I didn’t speak English, and every day felt like a mountain I didn’t know how to climb. That’s when I met Masha Kohn, our case manager at JFCS, and that changed everything. Iryna S. with her mother and daughter.Masha’s empathy and calm reassurance gave me the courage to keep moving forward. My… Read More

Laura Filshtein, Volunteer with JFCS’ Friendly Visitors Program: When I first learned about JFCS’ Friendly Visitors program, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to give back in a meaningful way. I was matched with Lydia, a resident of the assisted living community at Rhoda Goldman Plaza, and it didn’t take long for our time together to become one of the highlights of my week. Lydia is 104 years old. She stays mostly in her room, so our weekly visits are a chance for her to have some company—and for us to share a few laughs over cards. She loves… Read More

Dear Friends, Where does a troubled Jewish teen who is being raised in a single-parent family on welfare and food stamps turn to find help and support in the Bay Area? What beyond spiritual support can a Rabbi who very much wants to help offer a family in crisis? More than 50 years ago our small family found our answer at Jewish Family and Children’s Services. Our Rabbi referred us to JFCS when my mother came to him in tears. Through divorce, abandonment, my mother’s severe depression, and her frequent unemployment, the wolf was always at our door. JFCS was… Read More

Simon Miller, volunteer with JFCS’ Nutrition Program: When I moved to San Francisco from Boston just two years ago—by way of my hometown, London—I knew I wanted to build meaningful connections in my new home. I didn’t expect that delivering groceries through JFCS would become one of the most impactful and fulfilling parts of my week.  I had been thinking about volunteering for some time, but the horrific events on October 7 made the decision more urgent. Like many others in the Jewish community, I felt a renewed sense of identity and a strong desire to give back. I looked… Read More

Lisa was caught in a storm of family mental health issues. Her father, David, had suffered from depression his entire life. After receiving an early-stage dementia diagnosis a year ago, he was struggling to cope with the cognitive changes and was lashing out. At the same time, Lisa’s 10-year-old daughter, Abigail, started to display some concerning behaviors—she wasn’t sleeping or eating, and she started isolating herself from her friends. Lisa was overwhelmed by worry as she tried to help her father and daughter. “Honestly, I was feeling totally hopeless,” she recalls. A friend suggested that Lisa reach out to JFCS… Read More

Dear Friends, When my wife, Dorothy, and I moved into JFCS’ Rhoda Goldman Plaza ten months ago, we marveled that we had become beneficiaries of an organization we have known and admired for so long. Our connection to Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) spans decades, beginning during my long tenure as President of Palo Alto University. Influenced by distinguished leaders like Tad Taube, Marcia Goldman, Rabbi Stephen Pearce, and Gary Shapiro, our university proudly partnered with JFCS on mental health initiatives and professional training. The collaboration between the university and JFCS became even more meaningful when Anita Friedman, one… Read More