metro High Tech from page 14 Retirement living in Novi is about to get even better! We're pleased to announce Edgewater, a new residence building opening this year. Named for the classic amusement park, Edgewater evokes the charm of Detroit's golden era and the carefree lifestyle you'll find at Fox Run. Edgewater features: 94 spacious apartment homes 16 never-before-seen floor plans Open layouts and custom upgrades Discover our vibrant retirement community. Call 1-800-927-5064 for your brochure or schedule a personal visit to learn more. Add more Living to your Life® Novi 16 February 19 • 2015 On JFS Now And Moving Ahead Shaindle: When you look at the land- scape of business and health care today, information technology is a huge driver. Organizations that are not evolving will not survive. Today, more than ever, we must gather not only the subjective infor- mation that we need to function, but also the objective, measurable data to get from point A to B, moving us forward to demonstrate how we meet our goals. At JFS, we've just finished a strategic plan, based on the information we have today, to map out where we think our resources will be most needed in the future. My role is to be the "integrator" between the different JFS departments. That includes understanding finance, programming, client services, IT and our investments in resources to ensure we have the best, most cost-efficient infra- structure in place to meet the needs of the community. Q: Where do you see those needs rising most critically? Shaindle: It's a balance, of course. The demographic of our population contin- ues to age. We need to understand how the needs of our seniors are expanding and will continue to grow. And we need to be well-positioned to do more with potentially the same or fewer resources. Q: On the other end of the scale, what programs and tools are in place to meet the growing needs of young people, particularly in light of the rising numbers in the diagnoses of ADHD, depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders and other mental illnesses? Shaindle: JFS has counselors specifi- cally equipped to work with youth and teens and focused on greater efforts toward identification of mental illness to help intervene prior to tragedy. We are, in fact, partnering with Federation's Alliance for Jewish Education on a teen mental health conference on March 1. [See related story on page 31.] Additionally, we recently received a grant for our Mental Health First Aid program, which is allowing us to train those people who work with youth to be better equipped to identify the signs of mental illness. This will help ensure that those who need help receive it. We already have provided this training to some community professionals working with teens. We also are placing increased focus on suicide prevention. Early treat- ment is the key focus. We also offer psychological testing ser- vices to the community to help families identify cognitive, developmental or psy- chological conditions in young members of our community so they can be treated effectively. On Project Chessed Q: Project Chessed has been well docu- mented as a model program. Interestingly, it has yet to be duplicated. Why do you think that is the case? Shaindle: You have to say there's something in the water here. I think the difference is Detroit. A huge number of people who were willing to step up to the plate — from our physician community, our Federation, The Jewish Fund and the Sinai Medical Foundation — all worked together to make it happen. Detroit is unique. When you say you have a prob- lem, people are not going to just give you lip service; they are prepared to do what needs to be done. On Detroit Q: What changes have you seen in Jewish Detroit over the recent years? Shaindle: From my best recollection growing up here, I think that our com- munity has become a far more integrated Jewish community where you have Reform, Conservative and Orthodox rab- bis and congregations working together. We've embraced our diversity now to become what is truly a unified Jewish community. That's something we try to market to people thinking about relocat- ing to the area from out of town. From West Bloomfield to Oak Park, we can show them beautiful neighborhoods with homes and Jewish day schools that people can actually afford without having to choose one over the other. On Balancing Family And Professional Life Shaindle: Talking about balancing home life, a blended family, four kids and a career — my husband, Mendy, is the person who keeps us going. He's always been there, encouraging me to do what I do because he believes in my work as much as I do. We've been married and a blended fam- ily for nearly 10 wonderful years, and when people meet us, they are always a little sur- prised because we don't act like a "blended" family. We have four amazing children — I say three are my stepchildren only because I can't take credit for giving birth to them, not because they aren't mine. They make me weep with pride some- times. Like when you tell your kids to do things, and you raise them a certain way and they turn around as adults (like our oldest son) — and say things like "Bye, I'm going to Israel to join the army — because I feel I have an obligation to fight for my homeland:' And you think omg, he listened to me! Really? In the balance, being Shabbat- observant also is important in regard to keeping family time a priority. Come Friday at sundown, I'm home, the phone is off, the computer is off. There's noth- ing but family. ❑ Vivian Henoch is editor of myjewishdetroit. org, where a longer version of this story first appeared.