pv;IfEWISH AMILY SERVICE MARCH 1997 'T HE 1 NS 1 DER N E W S L E T T E R • 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.