Employment

When Alex moved from Israel to be closer to family in the Chicago suburbs, he did not have a plan in place for employment.

“My transition to the U.S. was a little stressful,” he admits.

For her bat mitzvah project, Ava Bednyak, 13, decided to raise funds to support a young family of three who recently moved to Chicago to escape the war in Ukraine. She connected with JCFS Chicago’s HIAS Immigration & Citizenship program to get started right away.

Two JCFS programs – Residential Supports and the Duman Opportunity Center – are working together to help individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) achieve independence and be active members of their communities.

Individuals with disabilities often face challenges when it comes to finding a job... JCFS Chicago’s Duman Opportunity Center offers various degrees of support for job seekers, such as Customized Employment, a job creation strategy based on the skills of the person seeking employment. 

In honor of Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), JCFS Chicago is proud to join Jewish local and national organizations in a unified effort to raise awareness and elevate the voices of people living with disabilities.

When Natalie’s job turned into a toxic work environment, she left the position after 15 years and turned to JVS Career Services, lacking self-confidence and unsure of her next steps.  

JVS Career & Employment’s Contracted Employment Services (CES) is committed to assisting adults with disabilities and other barriers to employment find and maintain jobs. CES pairs qualified candidates with open positions in janitorial and administrative support services. During this past year, these jobs were not just meaningful to the employer and employee, they were essential.

“I knew I would be able to do the things I wanted to accomplish,” Brandon Bures, a JVS Career & Employment client said. This Spring, he shared his story and represented JCFS Chicago at a Source America Grassroots Advocacy Conference with Marlies Gramann, Associate Vice President of Disability Services. The conference provided advocacy and self-advocacy training for non-profit executives and people with disabilities.

After immigrating to the United States, Fedir and Maxym turned to JVS Career & Employment for assistance. 

JCFS Chicago is proud to join the nonprofit community and celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Each week, we will be highlighting a client success story of someone who found meaningful employment through JVS Career & Employment. This is Malcom’s story.