In the early 2000s, Sarah was struggling to pay her bills while living in Chicago and attending medical school. Her grueling academic schedule didn’t allow time for a job to help. A classmate, who also was Jewish, told her about a JVS Career & Employment scholarship offered to Jewish students studying in the health field.

Angie’s Pantry is a small catering company in Chicago. The owner, Angie, had been looking for a reliable employee for quite a while, so she reached out to JCFS Chicago for help.

The “EM” in Project EM represents: Employment, Empowerment, and Embracing new opportunities. The Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies (NJHSA) created the program two years ago as a direct response to Covid-driven unemployment.

A dozen times each year, the JCARES Professional Training Institute offers educational sessions to help professionals across disciplines become more effective and sensitive responders to—and advocates for—abuse  and sexual assault victims and their families.

Molly Boeder Harris, founder of Portland’s Breathe Network , was the keynote speaker at a recent training focused on a variety of healing techniques , including yoga, art therapy, acupuncture, and  massage, that can be used to help abuse and rape victims. The training promised to be an informative opportunity for Harris “to demystify the healing arts,” as she put it.