Jewish Family Service has been providing caring, professional services to the greater Toledo area since 1949. The staff delivers high quality client-focused services through the integration of people, knowledge and experience. JFS is a place of compassion and skill that helps people who - like all of us - at points in their lives face challenges. Assistance is provided that is culturally sensitive and respects personal dignity and privacy. Our work is guided by the traditional Jewish values of tikkun olam, repair of the world, and gemilut chasidim, acts of loving kindness.
Volunteers provide short-term assistance for individuals recovering from surgery or who are experiencing a medical crisis.
Help is available for Jewish individuals and families facing an emergency situation because of financial difficulties. A financial review is conducted by a JFS professional who determines eligibility and creates a short-term plan with the individual to address current needs. A longer-term plan is formulated to regain and maintain financial stability and independence. If the request is approved, funds may be given as a grant or a loan, based on individual needs and resources.
Families requesting scholarship for The David Stone Hebrew Academy and Toledo Talmud Torah provide financial information to a JFS professional who evaluates the situation and makes a recommendation to a confidential scholarship committee which makes the final decision. This process also enables JFS to direct families to other resources to ease financial burdens.
Recipients are given food based on individual preferences and special dietary requirements to make complete meals. The Food Bank is carefully maintained and is certified by the Northwest Ohio Food Bank. It is open to the public during regular office hours by appointment only. Recipients must meet with a staff person for an assessment to facilitate linkages with other resources.
Trained volunteers make weekly visits to elderly Jewish community members to enhance quality of life by diminishing a person’s isolation or loneliness. Friendly Visitors also make outreach visits to elderly Jews who live in various facilities and desire brief visits. Contact Jewish Family Service for more information.
Traditional holiday food items are distributed at Rosh Hashanah and Passover to individuals and families who are in difficult financial situations. The food baskets include food and symbolic items that enable the recipients to participate in the observance of the holidays and to enjoy festive holiday meals.
Elderly individuals who need help with housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation and shopping or companion care are matched with private homemakers who have been screened by Jewish Family Service. There is an assessment fee based on a sliding scale. Homemakers can provide over night and up to twenty-four hour care.
Jewish Family Service is responsible for the determination of eligibility for assistance and the coordination of the interment of indigent Jewish individuals. Indigent burials are determined on a case-by-case basis where resources of both the deceased and his or her immediate family (i.e., spouse, parent, children of majority age) are reviewed.
This service provides a critical connection for people who do not know where or how to access available community resources.
Outreach involves making contact with Jewish individuals who may be ill, isolated, frail or in need of information and direction, be it in their home, hospital, rehabilitation or assisted living facility or nursing home. It also involves Jewish programming at various living facilities to “reach” the Jews living there. Outreach includes services to intermarried couples, children of divorced parents, elderly, children and adults with special needs and their families, etc.
The JFS Senior Adult Center, housed in Pelham Manor, is a non-sectarian program that engages seniors in activities that are fun and stimulating with a focus on wellness. Social activities include catered lunches, special day trips, movies, overnight vacation trips, and summer day camp. Wellness and fitness programs include exercise classes, balance class, and Tai Chi. A registered nurse provides weekly blood pressure check-ups, and regular sessions of Yiddish learning, painting class, and Mah Jongg, bingo and card playing are available. Entertainers and educational speakers are featured monthly. The JFS Senior Adult Center is the parent organization of the Jewish Friendship Club, which holds weekly meetings at Pelham.
JFS homemakers provide light housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, errands, transportation to doctors, and respite care to Jewish elderly. Homemakers are trained in caregiving and Jewish customs and are skilled in providing non-personal care on a sliding fee scale.
Coordination and development of activities, seminars, speaking engagements and workshops for the community on a variety of topics including caregiving,intermarriage, and older adult issues. Contact Jewish Family Service.
Ongoing services such as case management and translation are provided to Russian-speaking individuals who were resettled by Jewish Family Service.
Clinical services include case management and brief counseling. Case management services assist families in coping with changes that often face older family members and/or those with disabilities. Through meetings with clients and their family members, a Jewish Family Service professional assesses the current situation, develops an individualized plan of care, recommends needed services and available care options, assists the client and family members in accessing needed services, and provides on-going monitoring and assessment. Brief counseling for seniors is provided either where the client lives or in our office and for up to 6 sessions. A caregiver support group is also available.
Young people ages 7 to 12 and teens aged 13 to 18 are trained and matched with a child with special needs. The program is designed to foster a relationship between Jewish peer volunteers and children with special needs in a non-institutional setting. Contact Jewish Family Service for more information.
Mitzvah Baskets are beautifully decorated centerpieces that are available to “rent” from Jewish Family Service. Wicker baskets are filled with an assortment of packaged food items that represent food that is available in our Food Bank. The baskets are attractively wrapped and decorated with ribbon (and balloons if desired) in colors of your choice. The funds raised from basket rentals are used to purchase food for our Food Bank.
This web-based, counselor-assisted program helps low- and moderate-income Ohioans identify available benefits while accessing the JFS Food Bank.
A forum for seniors and their families. Sunday, May 31 Temple Shomer Emunim, 6453 Sylvania Avenue 10:30 a.m to 3:30 p.m. $8 per person, which includes a delightful lunch and items to assist you in dealing with the challenges of aging.
click here for more details.