Metro

Increasing The Line

State boosts budget appropriation
to Jewish social services.

Harry Kirsbaum

in Michigan. The Jewish community
was added in 2003, with $250,000.
"In five years, the Jewish Federation
he Jewish community
has been the recipient of $3.320 mil-
received a $990,000 appropri- lion from the state's multicultural
ation — a $200,000 increase
line said Michael Eizelman, chair
from last year — from the State of
of Federation's Multicultural Grant
Michigan to directly aid those with
Committee. "The entire amount is
given directly to the Jewish
communal agencies to
2007 State of Michigan
enable them to continue to
serve these populations."
Multicultural Line Allocations
Eizelman credited the
JFS
$330,400
work of Dennis Bernard and
Evan Weiner, chairs of the
JARC
$104,600
Federation's Government
Kadima
$87,200
Relations Oversight
Friendship Circle
$69,600
Committee, in securing the
JVS
$298,200
grant.
Norm Keane, JFS execu-
JVS w/ JHAS
$80,000
tive
director, said the money
JHAS — Holocaust Program
$20,000
is crucial. "For us, it does
Total Allocations:
$990,000
not mean an expansion of
services; it helps us maintain
special needs
because of loss of dollars in other
and people at
areas:' he said.
risk.
JFS received $330,400 or 4.5 percent
The appropri- of its total operating budget, Keane
ation appears
said, "for support services for the frail
on the multicul- elderly, for people for mental health
tural line of the
services who don't have third-party
fiscal year 2007
pays."
Department
of Community
Agency Increases
Evan Weiner
Health budget.
"This is huge," Bernard said. "If you
The grant was
think about it, we get all excited when
announced at
a corporation gives us a $100,000 gift
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
or something — $1 million a year is
Detroit and United Jewish Foundation
equivalent to a $20 million endow-
board meeting on Oct 19.
ment, and it's growing.
Recipient agencies are Jewish Family
"In a state with cuts in revenues, our
Service, JVS, Jewish Home & Aging
agencies are actually getting increases
Services, JARC,
in funding:' he said. "And it's because
Kadima and
we have great agencies. We do great
the Friendship
work:'
Circle.
The recipe for success in getting the
The multicul-
increase involves a unified pitch to leg-
tural line was
islators, said Bernard of Birmingham.
created in 1993
"Instead of having all our agencies call
to help state
on Lansing, we have one message, one
agencies deal
set of agendas; we have one written
with the mental
priority, and we have been very effec-
Dennis Bernard
health issues of
tive in moving that up over the last
Vietnam veter-
several years, from $500,000 to almost
ans, Hispanic,
a million."
Chinese-American, American Indian
Bernard and Weiner are co-chairs
and Arab-American populations living
of the Jewish Agency Political Action

Staff Writer

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18

November 9 • 2006

MI

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