Program To Target Single Moms
ss
Gain
LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER
W
hile working on her
dissertation about
divorced Jewish
women with chil-
dren, Lynda Giles discov-
ered a disturbing sentiment
common to many of her sub-
jects: They felt uncomfort-
able in the Jewish commu-
nity, a minority within a
minority.
will present its first pro-
gram of the Institute For
Single Jewish Mothers.
Titled "Putting The
Pieces Together," the pro-
gram will run from 5 p.m. to
9 p.m. Aug. 3 at Oakland
Community College-Or-
chard Ridge Campus. The
program and child care are
free.
PUTTING
THE
PIECES
TOGET
KEYNOTE SPOK:‘-
DR. JO
As chairwoman of the
Jewish Experiences For
Families (J.E.F.F.) advisory
board, Mrs. Giles felt
responsible to help these
single moms.
With the help of the Blue
Cross-Blue Shield of
Michigan, Oakland Corn-
munity College and various
Jewish agencies, J.E.F.F.
The line-up of speakers
includes Dr. Joyce Brothers
and Neil Kalter, author of
Growing Up With Divorce.
Local experts will address
issues of family law, credit
survival, re-entering the
workforce and spiritual sur-
vival. Written resources will
be available.
"As women, so much of
our identity is challenged.
They (single moms) need
their Jewish identity as a
basis. We need to help
empower them, and J.E.F.F.
is the perfect place to do it,"
Mrs. Giles said.
Harlene Appelman, direc-
tor of educational services
for the Agency for Jewish
Education, believes women,
especially single moms, are
a group often ignored.
"We're on a mission to
identify and recruit. Women
are sometimes overlooked;
it's a simple fact," Ms.
Appelman said. "If continu-
ity is a sincere desire, then
special attention needs to be
paid to this community."
J.E.F.F. Family Director
Sue Stettner hopes the pro-
gram is a first in a series of
possibilities for the Institute
For Single Jewish Mothers.
She emphasized that
women — not just divorced
or widowed, but all who
view outreach to single
moms as important to
Jewish survival — need to
attend.
"A 1990 demographic
study showed more than
2,000 Jewish families in
Detroit identified them-
selves single parent. And
the numbers are skyrocket-
ing," Ms. Stettner said.
"We're definitely dealing
with Jewish issues, but
we're also dealing with sur-
vival issues."
Ms. Appelman added,
"It's imperative women
come out and show this is
necessary. We need these
voices to be heard."
For reservations and
information, call Sue
Stettner at 354-1050.
❑
Special-Needs Youth
Mainstreamed At JCC
LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER
W
ith the help of a
$30,000 Max M.
Fisher Foundation
Grant, the JC-
Center is helping to main-
stream specialneeds adults
and children into more of its
various programs and expe-
riences.
Sign language classes
have been made available,
as well as signed speakers
and museum tours. Special
lifts are used to assist indi-
viduals in entering the pool.
Automatic doors and text
telephones are installed.
The newest challenge for
JCCenter staff is to inte-
grate physically challenged
and vision and hearing-
impaired youth into nursery
and kindergarten classes.
Separate classes for devel-
opmentally-disabled
children already are avail-
- • -
able.
The program follows last
year's success in main-
streaming two visually
impaired children into the
regular day-camp program.
SPECIAL NEEDS page 16
LESLEY PEARI. STAFF WRITER
cut in funding, at
least on paper, for the
Agency for Jewish
Education (AJE) may
still benefit the community
as a whole.
Working with a proposed
$34,000 less in allocations
from the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit
than last year, the AJE is
pushing ahead with its four-
year plan to become the
community's educational
resource while waiting for
final ratification of alloca-
tions by Federation's board
of governors.
Following the recommen-
dations of the 1992 Jewish
Federation-sponsored Giles
report on education, the
AJE left the business of
administering United
Hebrew Schools and accept-
ed its new role of offering
programming, workshops
and teacher training to con-
gregations in addition to
expanding its adult, teen
and family education.
The Giles report suggest-
ed education be viewed as a
top priority in the communi-
ty. Federation's Education
Division -- including area
day schools Hillel, Akiva,
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah and
I3ais Ya.akov, Yeshiva
Gedolah and the AJE — is
expected to receive the
largest amount in Feder-
ation allocations this year.
Yet individually, AJE will
take a loss.
It requested $925,000 for
the 1993-94 school year,
$41,000 more than its
$884,000 1992-93 alloca.-
tion. Federation's Education
Division has suggested it
receive $850,000, with an
additional $75,000 ear-
marked for a scholarship
fund.
A relatively flat Allied
Jewish Campaign and
increasing demands from all
beneficiaries of Federation
made increasing allocations
difficult.
Howard Gelberd, execu-
tive director of the AJE, is
mostly pleased with the pro-
posed allocation.
"This might slow us down
slightly. Our four-year plan
may take five now," Mr.
Gelberd said. "But this is a
leap of faith. We're a differ-
ent agency now, so it's like
going from zero to a lot (of
dollArs)."
Federation Planning
Director Larry Ziffer said
the same reasoning was
used by the education divi
sion in making its allocation
decisions.
"AJE presented the divi-
sion with a whole new
agency. I don't think the
education division saw this
as a cut. It adjusted for. AJE
not running the schools,
and anything else was an
add-on," Mr. Ziffer said
Irwin Alterman, educa-
tion division chairman,
added, "AJE will be elimi7,
nating or reducing many
areas of traditional cost and
will be substituting new
costs based on its evolving
mission. When the revised
mission is fully operational,
AJE will need substantially
more money to provide the
services- the community
expects."
"For the first year of mis-
sion, given the restraints of
funds and implementation
of so many new programs,
we feel the allocation was
appropriate," he added.
Members of the
Education Division felt
strongly a scholarship pro-
gram should be developed
immediately for members of
the community needing
assistance for supplemen-
tary school tuition costs.
If approved by the board
of governors, $75,000 will be
put into a financial assis-
tance fund. Federation is
looking at the most efficient
way to allocate it
If a suitable plan is not
developed in time to benefit
students during the 1993-94
school year, the funds will
roll over for 1994-95.
AJE page 16