Opening up about mental health issues can be a scary thing; it requires showing vulnerability to other people who might react unexpectedly. However, it becomes easier for someone to be honest about their issues when a friend or family member reaches out and checks in on them.

Originally from the Washington, DC area, Rachel Ferber was inspired to get involved in the Jewish community by her mother, who was a champion of Jewish women’s learning and education. Today, Rachel uses her mother’s example in every aspect of her work as a Jewish community leader, philanthropist, and JCFS Chicago board member.

In honor of International Friendship Day, we want to highlight the importance of friendship in the role of personal and social development, as well as resources that JCFS Chicago offers to help children and teens build healthy connections.

Among the hundreds of negative effects the pandemic caused people across the United States, one of the most distressing was the rapid rise in unemployment and underemployment. People who had been working in the same industries and companies for years suddenly saw their lives upended

The “EM” in Project EM represents: Employment, Empowerment, and Embracing new opportunities. The Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies (NJHSA) created the program two years ago as a direct response to Covid-driven unemployment.

Summer is a great excuse to plan special activities that can get your kids excited to complete occupational, physical, and speech therapy.

Simon Fleischmann is a Chicago area attorney and JCFS Chicago board member.

Disability Pride month is an opportunity to give a voice to people with disabilities and a platform to push for positive change.  

Without a doubt, Covid-19 threw us all on a road we never expected to be travelling down. Parents and students alike grappled with school closures, online learning, working from home, and social isolation. More than anything, parents and children of all ages had to learn how to deal with the effects of these new stressors on their mental health.  

The amygdala is an almond-shaped cluster of nuclei located deep within the human brain that processes memory, decision-making, and emotional responses. An enlarged amygdala has always been theorized to play a significant role in the development of autism.