Above:
Renee "Sunshine" Simon adds to and gains a great
deal from the Caring Communities.
Right:
Talking the truth at a meeting for the disabled.
Right below:
Leon Dreylinger participates in a group to support
people with family members suffering from
Alzheimer's.
Ms. Simon comes to Temple Israel
because "it's a safe, familiar environ-
ment. I know a lot of the people there
and there is a comfort zone whenever
Jewish people congregate. I keep a real
positive, upbeat attitude. I'd rather go
for the laugh."
She pulled through the hospital
phase of her ordeal by drawing not on
her teaching or sales career, but on
what she does differently, her clown-
ing. Clowning for the children at St.
Joseph's Hospital, she said, helped the
kids but also helped her recover.
To this day, she draws on that
strength and offers it up to those at the
Temple Israel meeting. It's a mutual-.
ity. They listen to one another. When
one woman suffering from multiple
sclerosis says she is scared and that life
isn't easy, everybody "understands."
When Renee is Renee, she describes
herself as a "successful saleswoman
having a ball. I can do a lot. I'm still a
vital person, and I'm really recovered
in so many ways."
For David Tisdale, Temple Israel's
president, the Caring Community's pro-
gram has always been a way for one
congregation to help its members and
other Jews admit that "we too have
problems like the rest of society.
"We have a longstanding commit-
ment to help people in need," said Mr.
Tisdale. "Numbers are not our criteria
for success. We've run support groups
for two people. If we have a member in
need, we can work something out to
help that member and ultimately the
community."
All Caring Community groups are
open and free to Temple Israel mem-
bers and to the public. Most of the fa-
cilitators are trained in their respective
fields. Some might not have doctorates
or master of social work degrees next
to their names, but they have gained
the requisite training through personal
experience.
There's another part of Caring Com-
munity that does happen outside of
Temple Israel. Several of its members
volunteer to go into public school sys-
tems and tutor children. Also, volunteers
monthly hold a birthday party, complete
with presents and food, at the Pontiac
Area Transitional Housing office. They
also have a birthday party monthly at