$2.00 JUNE 5-11, 2014 / 7-13 SIVAN 5774

theJEWISHNEWS.com

A JEWISH RENAISSANCE MEDIA PUBLICATION

» Taking Stock Local women's group invests in
Technion-related companies. See page 15.

» JCC Update Work continues on short- and long-
term stabilization plans. See page 18.

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

metro

» Al Fresco

These local restaurants offer the finest in
outdoor dining in Metro Detroit. See page 35.

The patio at Assaggi Mediterranean
Bistro in Ferndale

» cover story

Heart & Soul

Farber Soul Center will give art, food service experiences
to young adults with special needs.

Ronelle Grier I Contributing Writer

F

or almost 20 years,
Friendship Circle
of Michigan has
blazed the trail for children
with special needs and
their families with innova-
tive social and educational
programs made possible by
a dedicated core staff and
a volunteer corps of more
than 1,000 teens and adults.
Now the organization
is embarking on a new
endeavor that will provide
programming and voca-
tional training for adults
with special needs: the
Farber Soul Center, an
18,000-square-foot facility
that includes an art studio
and gallery as well as a fully
operative restaurant.
"The young children we
started with in 1995 are
now young adults:' said Levi
Shemtov, executive director
of Friendship Circle

Sam Morris at the loom in
the Friendship Circle art
studio

CONTINUED
ON PAGE 8

1942 - 2014

Covering and
Connecting
Jewish Detroit
Eve y Week

Dignified Burials

The Jewish Fund to help bury
unclaimed bodies from
Wayne County morgue.

I

Jackie Headapohl
Managing Editor

D

uring the May 13 board meeting of the Jewish
Fund, a member cited a news report from the
prior evening that alerted the public to the prob-
lem of nearly 200 unclaimed bodies at the Wayne County
Medical Examiner's Office.
He suggested that the Jewish Fund
provide leadership and financial
resources to assist in resolving this
situation in a compassionate and
humane manner. He then contacted
David Techner, funeral director at
the Ira Kaufman Chapel in Southfield
and a past president of the Michigan
, _
David Techner
Funeral Directors Association, who
quickly reached out to a network of
professionals to develop an action plan.
As of May 27, a plan was put in place. Members of the
Michigan Funeral Directors Association from Wayne
and Oakland counties, with the support of the Jewish
Fund, are leading a coalition of volunteers who will work
together to ensure that all of those who have remained at
the county morgue long-term will be buried in individual
graves, with caskets, in local cemeteries, over the next
two months.
"This is a human problem that requires a human solu-
tion;' said Techner, a lead organizer of the coalition. "I
am proud to be part of a humane group of volunteers

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12