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an assumption about the needs of the
community, but now we have data to base
decisions on. We don’t have to rely on
assumptions.”
Agency staff also identified several
unmet community needs, including autism
services, counseling/support groups for
teens and children, day programs for adults
with Alzheimer’s and dementia disorders,
domestic violence programs, housing
and residential services without Jewish
observances, mental health programs and
mental health/developmental disability
services, and skilled home health care.
“There are some areas where demand
outstrips our ability to provide services,
such as in-home support services and
older adult services,” Blumberg said. “The
elderly population is growing and their
needs are growing as well.”
According to Kaufman, the vari-
ous local communal organizations will
work together to maximize community
resources and provide the best customer
service. “We have funding challenges.
We’re not going to be able to sustain
everything. The good news is we have
very good agencies working collabora-
tively to provide the needed services.”

TEEN NEEDS
Finally, the study revealed that teens in
Jewish Detroit are struggling with mental
health concerns. The Community Study
showed that while 93 percent of teen
respondents say they have a parent or
other adult they can turn to for support, a
large portion are still struggling.
According to the survey, 52 percent of
teen respondents said they or their friends
were struggling with anxiety, and 42
percent of respondents say they struggle
with low self-esteem, sadness or depres-
sion. Academic pressure and difficulty
with schoolwork seem to be the major
drivers for these health challenges. Other
concerns cited by teen respondents were
eating disorders (25 percent), bullying (22
percent) and drug use (17 percent).
When asked what programs and ser-
vices they or their friends would benefit
from, teen respondents’ most common
suggestions were subject tutoring, stress
management, college testing prepara-
tion services, job shadowing programs

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32 September 8 • 2016

continued from page 30

These services are needed most in
Jewish Detroit, according to the
Community Study:

• Caregiver services
• Case management
• Concierge services
• Counseling and support groups
• Employment services for adults
• Financial assistance

and after-school counseling/emotional
support. A high percentage of teens were
also interested in volunteer opportunities,
youth activities and fitness programs.
“The data on teens gleaned from
the Community Study is worrisome,”
according to Federation’s analysis. “It
suggests that a broad-based community
strategy on teen mental health is needed
to serve local teens in a coordinated and
effective way.”

WHAT’S NEXT?
“We absolutely achieved what we were
looking for with this study: to identify
some gaps and high-priority needs,” the
Jewish Fund’s Sosnick Schoenberg said.
“The real opportunity now is working
together with other communal agencies
to address those needs.” She added she is
hopeful the study will also inform donors
where the needs in the community lie.
Federation plans to meet with other
Jewish agencies and explore the short-
and long-term health and social welfare
needs of the community to create a com-
prehensive, collaborative plan to ensure
agencies are providing the right services
today and into the future in the most
cost-effective and impactful way. Those
conversations have begun, but there have
been “no answers yet,” Blumberg said.
Although the study gave the Federation
and Jewish Fund a good idea of the needs
of the community, a more detailed snap-
shot of the Detroit Jewish community is
needed, Kaufman added.
It’s been more than 10 years since
the 2005 Detroit Jewish Population
Study, last updated in 2010. Kaufman
said the Federation would like to do a
new study and is looking for funders to
make that happen.
“We need to know about Jewish iden-
tity, affiliation, geography, age, etc., in our
community,” Kaufman said. “At the end
of the last decade, the Great Recession hit,
and many people left the community for
jobs. Now, we have anecdotal evidence
that there is a reverse migration, that more
young people are moving home and living
in Detroit, but we really don’t know.”
Kaufman hopes to have funding in place
for the study by the end of the year.

*

• Financial counseling
• Fitness and exercise programs
• Geriatric care management/social
work
• Health care options and insurance
counseling
• Health education/wellness
programming
• Home modifications
• In-home support services
• Transportation
• Volunteer opportunities