Keeping with the principle of pikuach nefesh (preservation of life and health), JCFS Chicago chaplains continue to provide support by phone or online. We speak with people who live at home, in senior communities or in other residential facilities, often bringing a sense of spirituality and connection to the Jewish community in challenging times.

What is compassion meditation, and how can it be so impactful so quickly? In this form of meditation, one offers simple phrases of good will to oneself and to others. Even short periods of compassion meditation has been found to reduce stress and increase positive emotions.

by Nina Henry, JCFS Chicago Addiction Specialist

With much of the world shut down, loneliness has become a familiar facet of everyday life, especially for older Americans living alone, in nursing homes, or retirement communities.

by: Ann Luban, Senior Director, Jewish Community Services

Even before our current crisis, NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) reported that 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 youth struggle with mental health challenges each year, and now we are all experiencing prolonged changes to our daily lives due to the pandemic that has heightened our emotions and compounded our worries. While there are no magic wands we can wave, there are some strategies we can employ to help ourselves and that we can share with our family and friends.

As we reshape our lives and navigate a new normal, we feel the impact of this current pandemic on our emotional well-being.

Throughout history, as humans spread across the world, infectious diseases have been a constant companion.  Even in this modern era, outbreaks are nearly constant. The Jewish community has lived through those times.  We can learn from the past. 

Imagine a situation in which thousands of Jews all over the world are sitting in churches every week.  Many of them are wishing they could be sitting in a synagogue instead, but they can’t. So who are these Jews?  These are Jews in recovery from addiction of every sort. These are all Jews attending 12-Step meetings.  

Although it’s a snowy winter Friday afternoon in Chicago, inside Bella Terra, a senior living community in Morton Grove, warm Shabbat melodies envelop Jewish residents. Twice a month they come together to welcome Shabbat with services led by conservative Cantor Fortunee Belilos and volunteer Rabbi Milt Wakschlag. 

When concerns about substance use or other possible addictions arise: what help is available? Who can I call?

JCFS Chicago is honored to partner with MISSD and No Shame on U to expand the suicide prevention work of the Chicago Jewish community and offer support and comfort to those who have lost someone to suicide, with support from JUF’s Breakthrough Fund.