pv;IfEWISH
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MARCH 1997
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• PROVIDING HELP WHERE HELP IS NEEDED •
WEST BLOOMFIELD OFFICE IS EXPANDED
Jewish Family Service has expanded its branch of-
fice in West Bloomfield to meet the increased demand
for counseling services, and to better serve the
Farmington and West Bloomfield segment of the Jew-
ish community.
vide counseling services. They join the Director, Yvonne
Bernstein, M.S.W.; and therapists, Janet Gumenick,
M.S.W. and Sheryl Litt, M.S.W. The West Bloomfield
office provides individual, group and family counseling
services.
Fay Rosen, M.S.W. and Lorraine Lerner, M.S.W.
have relocated to the West Bloomfield office to pro-
Lorraine Lerner, a therapist for Jewish Family Ser-
vice since 1963, received her Masters Degree in Social
Continued on page 2
JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE IMMIGRATION
AND CITIZENSHIP SERVICES
Recently enacted welfare reform
legislation will dramatically affect
immigrants who rely on government
programs for assistance. These ben-
efits include Supplemental Security
Income (SSI), Medicaid and food
stamps. Many older individuals will
be left without a safety net once gov-
ernment benefits are reduced to non-
citizens in the summer of 1997.
The Jewish Federation of Metro-
politan Detroit's Board of Governors
has approved funding for a compre-
hensive immigration and citizenship
program under the auspices of the
Jewish Family Service. This program,
which will directly help 1,500 to
2,500 older individuals during the
first year, will include a range of ser-
vices designed to facilitate natural-
ization.
Jewish Family Service's Immi-
gration and Citizenship Services,
certified by the Bureau of Immigra-
tion Appeals, is a "one stop shop" en-
abling the JFS to serve as an exten-
sion of the INS and provide assis-
tance with documentation required
for immigration and naturalization.
This includes fingerprinting and pho-
tographs for the INS. Assistance with
documents may range from an appli-
cation for a green card to the N-400,
the formal application for naturaliza-
tion. Services are provided by immi-
gration para-legal counselors in a pri-
vate and confidential setting. Fees are
determined by the complexity of the
document and are approved by the
Bureau of Immigration Appeals. No
legal advice will be provided and the
agency will not represent applicants
before governmental agencies.
In addition to document assis-
tance, Jewish Family Service has de-
veloped a unique program. The Citi-
zenship Preparatory Program is an
eight week course which focuses on
U.S. government and history using
English as a second language (ESL)
techniques. Students learn the ma-
terial while developing English pro-
ficiency. The course which is en-
dorsed by HIAS, was developed to
provide maximum aide to immigrants
at a time when naturalization has
become more difficult. Licensed
E.S.L. instructors will teach the
course at Jewish Family Service on
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays
from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Transportation
is available. The course fee is only
$35.00 which includes books and
materials.
Jewish Family Service is already
administering the citizenship test in
cooperation with Educational Test-
ing Service (ETS). The test is admin-
istered monthly at Beth Achim syna-
gogue located in Southfield.
For more information or to make
an appointment, call Anna at (810)
559-4566.
STAFF MEMBERS
BECOME U.S. CITIZENS
Staff members, Ilya Ayzenberg
and Alex Goldberg recently became
U.S. citizens utilizing the services at
Jewish Family Service.