O
Board members praise her for her lev-
ment, and she was able to return to work.
"Every day is a crisis," Ms. Shallal said. elheadedness and her ability to secure
"The problem is, you need three or four state and local dollars.
"She is always looking for new and cre-
apartments available for when someone
who is homeless walks in the door. That ative ways to find funding," said Ms.
is the hardest piece of our service deliv- Richman. "She is very aware of the fund-
ing network and she knows how to access
ery.
"I feel like I am always rearranging dollars."
Added Janet Aronoff, a founding mem-
situations to stabilize things," Ms. Shal-
ber
of Kadima, "Janette is a gift from
0 lal said.
Kadima often has felt like the un- heaven. I was just [at the office] and she
wanted stepchild among Jewish agen- was helping stuff bags for our fund-rais-
cies, standing in the shadow of the er [held earlier this month]. Then she was
better-known Jewish Association for Res- on the phone because there was a client
idential Care (JARC), although both with an emergency. She is everywhere
agencies service different populations. and she does everything. She gets along
While Kadima's clients have mental ill- politically with the Oakland County De-
nesses, JARC clients have developmen- partment of Mental Health, and she has
been able to go out in the community and
tal disabilities.
"Part of it is age," Ms. Shallal said. raise awareness." ❑
JARC has been around for 15 years
longer than Kadima. When General As-
sistance (GA), a program upon which
many of the mentally ill depended, end-
ed at the beginning of this decade, there
was no well-established program to aid
them as in the case of the developmen-
tally disabled, most of whom were re-
leased from state institutions in the early
1970s.
The other issue is fear; many violent
crimes have been committed by those
with mental illness, she said. This is not
the case with those with developmental
disabilities.
"A lot of people are afraid to have them
[those with mental illness] in our com-
munity," Ms. Shallal said. "We're trying
to change the view of the community by
saying, 'Give them a chance. Let them
live in your neighborhoods and let them
work. They are not going to hurt you.' "
The stigma associated with mental ill-
ness is enough to keep highly qualified
and motivated individuals off the agency's
board of directors.
"This `shanda' business," said Ms. Shal-
lal, "is not right. Shame-based behavior
destroys families and communities."
Ms. Shallal knows all of the consumers
and their case histories and is often a part
of the decision-making process with re-
gard to their treatment.
"There is nothing she won't do herself,
from laying tiles in our group home to
moving furniture," said Geta Richman,
the clinical director at Kadima. "When
someone is dropped on our doorstep, [Ms.
Shallal] often personally takes that per-
son to a hotel if we can't find other im-
mediate housing.
"I think she's motivated by some inner
sense of wanting to make a difference and
doing what it takes to care for humani-
ty. The strides Kadima has made are to
a great extent due to her efforts and per-
severance and professionalism."
Ms. Shallal said it's her love of peo-
ple and her knack for counseling that mo-
tivates her to work as hard as she does.
"This is something I feel I was born
to do," she said. "I get a tremendous
sense of reward when I see people living
better lives and feeling happier about
themselves. I really believe each one of
us has been called to do something in this
world, and this is my call."
Top: Maintenance work
at the group home is
not in her job
description, but Ms.
Shallal does it anyway.
Bottom: Paperwork is
all part of the job for
Ms. Shallal and Ms.
Steward.
"Because
I'm not
Jewish, I
didn't think
I would be
hired, even
though I am
oriented
to Jewish
culture."