Here to Help the Healing Begin

Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) was founded in San Francisco in 1850, the same year as the State of California. As the city and region developed, JFCS grew with it, matching the Bay Area’s creativity and success with its own. Through earthquakes, fires, recessions, and every type of personal and communal crisis, JFCS has consistently pioneered new outreach, support, and education to help individuals and families in need.

“There are no families without problems,” says Dr. Anita Friedman, executive director of JFCS. “We’re here to make sure that no one is alone when they need help.”

When the pandemic made it dangerous for Helen and Tom – a couple in their 80s with serious health conditions – to leave their house, they had no access to food and necessities. JFCS volunteers delivered weekly groceries from the JFCS Food Bank to their doorstep and provided a vital community connection. Upon learning that the couple had recently lost their oldest son to cancer, JFCS also provided virtual grief counseling to help comfort Helen and Tom.

“JFCS has helped us so much during this time,” Helen says. “It’s amazing – years ago, Tom and I would donate and volunteer at JFCS, and now the community is helping us.”

JFCS’ size and diversity of programs allow the agency to respond in emergencies as well as when longer-term, wraparound care is needed. This year alone, JFCS has supported over 120,000 people from Sonoma County through the South Peninsula with over 40 programs that address life’s greatest challenges from birth until the end of life. Guided by the Jewish traditions of advancing human dignity for everyone, community responsibility, intergenerational ties, and repairing the world, JFCS is the first port of call in the Jewish community while at the same time providing services to people of all faiths and backgrounds.

When COVID struck, JFCS’ experience with both crisis response and long-term care made it ready to respond from the get-go. The agency’s comprehensive, intergenerational model of care means that during the pandemic and its aftermath, a family can obtain food, receive guidance to help a child transition back to school, connect with a mental health counselor, access care for a frail grandparent, and learn to navigate the complexities of emergency loans or scholarships.

“With the incredible generosity of our community, we will always be here to respond during moments of crisis and, most importantly, through the process of recovery,” Dr. Friedman says. “It’s after the emergency is over that the real healing begins.”