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In difficult times, we may find ourselves navigating a complex mix of uncertainty, anxiety, trauma and loss while also holding on to hope for a brighter future. Everyone faces challenges, but with the right tools and support, we can build resilience and pave the way for a more hopeful tomorrow.

Addiction is a challenge that affects millions in the United States, with 46.3 million people struggling with substance use disorders. In the Jewish community, however, addiction is often treated as a silent issue—something that feels isolated or exceptional.

Now more than ever, we want to ensure that teens and their trusted adults have access to all of the resources that they need regarding factual and inclusive sexual, mental, and reproductive health and wellness.

Knapp School & Yeshiva serves students from kindergarten through grade 12+, and its safe, supportive learning environment and small class sizes are geared toward students who have not succeeded in other educational settings.

“My daughter’s experience was very positive,” Bat-El said. “We noticed improvement very fast. She enjoyed her sessions, and it felt more like an after-school activity and less like therapy.”

Whether you’re considering adoption, in the process, or parenting a child who has joined your family, a supportive community makes all the difference.  At JCFS Chicago, we believe fostering these connections is essential for nurturing families and ensuring lasting bonds. Here are meaningful ways we help build and strengthen your family.

A unique offering to JCFS Chicago’s chaplaincy program is a Russian Jewish chaplain who serves the Russian faction of the Jewish community and provides something they may not have experienced before: spirituality.

To promote the development of employment skills in a supportive environment, the Student Work Program at Knapp School & Yeshiva provides students in grades 6-12 with supervised work experiences in the school and at community work sites.

Teri, who has been working at a local restaurant, called her Duman Employment Specialist (ES) to ask for help. She wanted to get more hours at her job, so the ES went to observe Teri at work to help her make improvements.

The breakneck rate at which weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and the like infiltrated our media, our vernacular, and our everyday lives was astonishing. 

As always, here at Response for Teens, we want to provide caregivers and their young people with as much information as possible to make informed and meaningful decisions. So, before we go down all those conversational paths and more, we should first know what we’re talking about. Let’s cover the basics.