In 1989, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) established National Recovery Month as a national observance to promote and support new evidence-based substance use treatment and recovery practices.

Suicide Awareness week will be observed September 4th-10^th this year with the goal of raising awareness about suicide and support both for those who struggle with suicidal ideation and those grieving the death of a loved one from suicide. 

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.  

For many, any thoughts of romance were put on a solid hold over the last 2+ years of the pandemic. As much of the country is now vaccinated, many people are once again ready to dip (or dive!) into the dating scene.  What follows are some thoughts on how we can enjoy dating thoughtfully, perhaps a little more slowly, and in line with our Jewish values.

Did you know that our JCFS chaplains work with more than 16 senior communities in the greater Chicago area, with diversity and inclusion communities, and with more than 40 individual clients at a time?

Since March 2020, when Covid-19 first altered our daily lives, public health officials warned of a potential surge in drug overdoses.

It is important, as we emerge from the pandemic (fingers crossed), that mental health and substance use treatment providers determine whether the needs of trauma-affected clients are being met. The goal is to offer treatment services that are sensitive to trauma-affected clients, while also recognizing we could cause trauma if we were not mindful of proper practices and procedures.

JCFS supports Chicago’s Jewish community members on many paths from constriction to expansion. In this spirit, we offer links to haggadot and Passover readings that reflect both ancient and contemporary ways that we experience bondage, the struggle for freedom, and ultimate liberation from slavery.

It is critically important that we engage with our young children and provide age-appropriate child abuse prevention education, as this is a key strategy in keeping children safe.

Overdose deaths are skyrocketing as a result of the devastating effects of synthetic opioids like fentanyl which are being unleashed by bad actors into the black-market drug supply.  Now more than ever, psychoactive drug use can be deadly.