Jewish Community Programs

During the government shutdown, JCFS Chicago provided one-time emergency grocery support to SNAP-eligible individuals and families, including grocery cards for people in our HIAS Immigration & Citizenship program whose benefits were suspended. JCFS stepped up quickly to ensure people did not go without food, putting the agency’s shared values into action and affirming that every person counts.

Distributing almost $150,000 in grocery gift cards, JCFS provided funds that enabled approximately 800 people to receive food, including 110 families of four or more, 63 families of two or three, and 37 individuals.

At the recent Through a Jewish Lens: Hope and Healing for Suicide Loss Survivors, which JCFS co-sponsors annually with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Rabbi Marianne Novak spoke about how the Jewish community can best support suicide loss survivors.

Here are a few highlights from her presentation.

Author, speaker, advocate, lawyer, and clinician Jason B. Rosenthal recently spoke to an audience of more than 100 people at a JCFS program hosted by Congregation B’nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim in Deerfield and generously sponsored by the Lauri S. Bauer Foundation for Sudden Loss. Drawing from his own experience with loss and healing, Jason offered powerful lessons about love, grief, and resilience.

JCFS Chicago expanded its unique Synagogue Community Partnership (SCP) to include 13 synagogues when it recently added two northwest suburban congregations (with one more in the works). Grant funding helps to underwrite a liaison from JCFS’ Jewish Community Services to work with the synagogues’ clergy, staff and congregants, as well help with programming.

Navigating conversations with teens about drugs and alcohol can feel overwhelming—but it's one of the most important talks for a teen. Here are five practical tips to help you open the door to meaningful conversations that build trust and resilience.

Each summer for the past ten years, staff members from Jewish Community Services have trained local camp counselors to recognize and respond to abuse and boundary-violating behaviors.

In these turbulent times, we need friends who offer joy, support and emotional well-being. It is comforting to surround ourselves with friends whose views align with our own. But what happens when differences emerge within our friendships – especially around deeply held beliefs or political perspectives?

Several residents supported by JCFS have been participating in book clubs – first via Zoom, at the beginning of the pandemic, and eventually in person at the Skokie Public Library.

Grief can be incredibly lonely. But something powerful happens when you’re in a room with others who truly get it. That’s what I’ve seen during my time as an intern at JCFS Chicago: the power of connection in grief support groups.

The Jewish community has come a long way in acknowledging addiction, supporting those who have struggled and uplifting those in recovery. JCFS Chicago and the Chicago Board of Rabbis invite you to continue this forward momentum during a special Shabbat.