Weathering the Storms of Adolescence: To Hold on or Let Go? During the storms of adolescence it’s a tricky balance for parents to know when to offer support and when to let go. We all want our young adults to be prepared for life, and not be stifled by a “failure to launch” into adulthood. So what’s the best way to foster independence and responsibil...
JFCS Serves Sonoma County in Major Fire Recovery Efforts Moving from Emergency Response to Long-Term Recovery Two months have passed since fires swept through the North Bay, leaving in their wake incredible destruction and thousands homeless, jobless, and emotionally scarred. JFCS hit the ground running, working to support the community. Thanks to generou...
Loneliness stops here. Caring starts with you. “I want to die with dignity.” Nora is a client of Jewish Family and Children’s Services whose story and strength I find inspiring. She has not only survived the Holocaust, she’s outlived her husband and son. Now, at 93, she’s been diagnosed with cancer. When Nora reached out to JFCS, she t...
JFCS YouthFirst: How to Become a Successful Adult Nearly 100 Bay Area high school students got their first immersion into the world of work this summer through JFCS’ YouthFirst Summer Internship Program. The opportunity to participate in 20 hours of work per week, plus professional and personal development workshops, gave teens the confidence to ...
JFCS Financial Aid Centers Expands Loans and College Scholarships Ten minutes before Ma’ayan Epstein, 18, was due to give the speech at her high school graduation she got a call from Michelle Lamphere, Director of JFCS’ Financial Aid Center. “When I answered the phone Michelle said, ‘I have some information.’ I didn’t want bad news right before my spee...
Powering Off: Take a Family Digital Detox At their best modern devices are helpful tools and can make our lives easier. At their worst they are remarkably addictive, and research now clearly shows that their use can lead to a host of behavioral, interpersonal, and mood issues for people of all ages. If you are reading this you likely have a...
Solving Homelessness—JFCS Expands Domestic Violence Services Once survivors of domestic violence take the courageous step to leave their abuser, they face an uphill climb to self-sufficiency. Homelessness, trauma, debt, and few job skills can create unsurmountable hurdles to creating a new life—oftentimes leading them back to their abuser. That’s why JFCS...
Do the Good Thing Many of us get to know Jewish Family and Children’s Services when a crisis strikes. Whether it’s a child struggling with a disability, job loss, divorce, or a sick parent, one bad thing can really knock you down. JFCS gets us back up. It happened to me when my sister’s dementia rapidly progres...
High Stress the New “Normal” for Bay Area Teens and Young Adults It has never been easy to be a teenager, but JFCS is finding that today’s climate is particularly tough on our young people. Academic success, extracurricular activities, pressure to “package” oneself on social media—and the list goes on. These pressures can be coupled with frequent moves du...
The Perfect Storm—A Critically Ill Parent and High School Do the Good Thing – Please Donate to the JFCS Annual Campaign Growing up is hard enough these days—heavy homework loads, constant peer pressure, uncertainty about the future. One bad thing can stop a teen in her tracks. It was already bad enough for Jessica, who recently reached out to JFCS ...
The Future Is Bright for College-Bound JFCS Scholarship Winners When Alex Ike got the call letting him know he’d been chosen to receive a scholarship through JFCS’ Financial Aid Center he almost fell out of his chair. He says, “I called my mother immediately, and she practically screamed … we were both ecstatic.” The same excitement and relief were pal...
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