J INSIDER

JEWISH
FAMILY
SERVICE
OF
METRO-DETROIT

EXPANDING OUR SCOPE OF SERVICES

FALL 1991

Families in Transition: A "Case" in Point

When Mrs. Z originally called
Jewish Family Service, she told the In-
take Worker about her 12-year old
daughter Sharon's recent problems in
school. Her grades had slipped, friends
had changed and she had been
suspended for smoking cigarettes on
school grounds.
The Intake Worker had discovered
that Sharon's problems were not the
only issues confronting the family over
the last several years. Mr. and Mrs. Z
had been separated on and off for the
last year because Mr. Z had physically
abused her throughout their marriage.
Bobby, the Z's 7-year old son, had
been sexually abused by an older
adolescent male.
Given the history of sexual abuse
and domestic violence, the Intake
Worker determined that this case
would be appropriate for the Family
Preservation Program.
When the Z family came to Jewish
Family Service for the first time, the
social worker noted a variety of
dysfunctional behaviors. The parents
seemed angry with each other,
powerless and disinterested in the con-
stant arguing between Sharon and Bobby.

The social worker explained what
the Family Preservation Program was
all about: individual, marital, family,
group therapy, homemaker services
where indicated and participation in
summer camp for families and children.
"We are seriously committed to
helping families stop cycles of violence
within or outside of a family. This is
not always accomplished during one
hour per week and so we see a family
several times a week in different
modes of treatment. We want your
family to relate to each other better,"
said the social worker.
A treatment plan was developed that
took all of the family member's needs
into consideration. Each family is look-
ed at as a family unit. Whether
members are seen for individual,
group or family therapy depends on
specific needs at that time and the
goals of treatment. Issues of power and
control, dependency, and communica-
tion are all explored within each mode
of treatment. In addition, children's
groups and adult groups are offered to
provide a peer experience which often
help members obtain another
perspective.

In order to help restore safety and
model appropriate behaviors a Jewish
Family Service trained homemaker
was assigned to work with the family.
The Z family rarely missed sessions
and seemed committed to working on
their problems. The Z's had jumped
over a large hurdle in treatment but
knew more hurdles lay ahead.
Gradually the Z family seemed
more full of life and hopeful. They
learned that it was more important to
confront their problems directly rather
than pretend they did not exist. Over
time, they learned how to com-
municate better with one another, ex-
press their needs and realize that not
everything was going to be perfect.
After a year in treatment, the Z
family had made considerable pro-
gress. Bobby no longer felt as scared of
being revictimized because he knew
that his parents were there to protect
him. Sharon had realized that the pro-
blems in her family were mostly bet-
ween her mother and father and that
she was just "acting them out:' Mrs. Z
did not feel all alone due to her par-
ticipation in her support group. Mr. Z
had begun to understand how he was

President's Message

President's Message

By John E. Jacobs
President, Jewish Family Service

by Marcy Feldman
President, Resettlement Service
It is with great excitement that I

In the months since our last
newsletter, Jewish Family Service staff
and board have continued to address
and to meet many new challenges.
This has been a year of hardship for
many in the community as a result of
the recession and the measures taken
by the State of Michigan to trim the
social service budget. Serious financial
constraints facing the Jewish Federation
and the United Way made for difficult
budget decisions and the potential for
significant program reductions during
1992. Fortunately, most cuts were averted
and with the assistance of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, we
were able to provide some relief to the
many who turned to us for assistance.
In September, the Agency marked
the first year anniversary of the West
Bloomfield Branch Office. This pro-
gram is greatly exceeding our initial
expectations of accomplishment. To
handle the demand for service, space
in the office was reconfigured during
the summer and an additional social
worker was added to the staff.
The Family Preservation Program
which has dealt primarily with child

abuse prevention, is expanding ser-
vices into domestic violence preven-
tion. In addition, the program now of-
fers two therapy groups for male and
female survivors of childhood incest, as
a response to the successful communi-
ty outreach program entitled "Break-
ing Silence", held in conjunction with
B'nai B'rith Women last fall.
Endowment committee co-chairs
Warren Coville and Nancy Jacobson,
have been actively pursuing endow-
ments to support the Family Preserva-
tion Program's expansion and longevity
To kick this program off, we have
received endowments from Margot
and Warren Coville and Barbara and
Irving Nusbaum. With the support of
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit, an endowment has been

continued inside

have become President of Resettle-
ment Service this year — a time when
history is being written almost on a
daily basis.
At this moment, Israel has a
tremendous job of resettling thousands
of people from the Soviet Union and
Ethiopia. Their task is mind boggling.
We, in Detroit, also have the oppor-
tunity of resettling newcomers. I urge
all of you to start the new year with an
act of loving kindness. Greet someone
at the airport, help hang a mezzuzah,
donate household goods to make an
empty apartment a home. The list of
what we can do goes on and on.
In the last several months over 400
new Americans have arrived in the
Detroit area. It is up to us as a com-
munity to reach out to them. The
Detroit Jewish community has been
wonderful in its efforts to donate
clothing and household goods in the
past. At this point in time we no
longer need clothing for adults. In the
case of furniture donations, I hope the
community will understand some of
our concerns and the reasons behind

raised as a child affected the way that
he was as a parent and husband. He
was committed to stop the abusive
behavior and he was working on con-
trolling it. The family had learned how
to deal with the anger, fear and
sadness better. These feelings were no
longer labeled inappropriate, instead
they were welcomed for expression.
After two years of treatment, the Z
family stopped coming to the Jewish
Family Service Family Preservation
Program. They had done all the work
they needed to do to unite successful-
ly. The fear of family violence that
governed their house upon entering
treatment was no longer prevalent.
New skills had been acquired, limits
set and boundaries established so that
the Z family could live a more fulfilling
life together. ■

*This case is a composite of different
types of problems experienced by people
who turn to J.F.S. for help. Actual in-
dividuals or families are not represented.
J.F.S. does not reveal client identities or in-
formation without client permission.

the questions you may be asked when
you call about giving us your furniture.
The apartments we are furnishing are
small and we don't want to accept a
donation of something that will end up
in storage because it is too large to be
used. We do appreciate the generosity
of everyone concerned.
We have a strong, active Board of
Directors and a dedicated staff: I am
looking forward to working closely
with them on many projects.
In September our Board co-
sponsored a Shabbat dinner with
J.E.FF and the Jewish Community
Center for the new Americans who ar-
rived in June. We have held orientation
sessions for the newcomers on cleans-
ing and health products, free places to
visit in the area, banking procedures, etc.

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