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Jews in the D
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their adult children when they were unable
to do so. She was assigned to help a group of
parents who formed the Parents Association
for Jewish Residential Care in 1969. A few
years later, the first JARC group home opened
with six men and women residents, Alterman
says. JVS and JFS were both involved with the
home’
s residents and the program was a “col-
laborative community effort.
”
More homes soon followed but community
reaction to them was not always positive in
the early years. One home in Pleasant Ridge
was fire bombed, Alterman recalls. JARC
makes special efforts to maintain their group
homes and be good neighbors.
Joyce Keller joined the organization as
executive director in 1978. She “took the orga-
nization to great heights” during her decades
of leadership, according to Alterman. “People
had a great quality of care.
”
A GOOD LIFE
Bob Boesky, 86, a retired CPA who lives in
Florida, is one of the parents grateful for the
constant care provided for his daughter Julie,
57, who has lived at JARC residences since
she was 18. “It has been an incredibly good
experience for her and our family. JARC has
made her life good for her,” he says. This is
her second JARC home and Boesky says that
she has been happy at both.
Boesky became connected with JARC
when he did some accounting work there
while Keller was executive director. His
daughter was living at another organizational
group home but when JARC had an opening,
she moved. Julie works at JVS on a mobile
crew that cleans apartments, which she likes,
Boesky says.
Her future was a serious worry for him
after his first wife passed away; his other
children don’
t live in the Detroit area. While
there have been changes over the years,
Boesky says that everything is working out.
“JARC has made her life as close to perfect as
it can be,” he says.
One of the major changes affecting JARC
in recent years is the aging of some group
home residents. Friedberg says that 50 to 60
percent are now more than 60 years old.
“They have the challenges of aging we
all have so there is a need for more staff,”
Braunstein says. JARC’
s goal, she says, is for
residents to remain at home throughout their
lives, avoiding nursing homes and hospitals.
“Staffing is always a challenge; and this is
not easy work. It’
s a national issue,” Friedberg
says. JARC is committed to paying its direct
support staff more than the allotment pro-
vided by Medicaid contracts — the source
of most JARC funding — both as a form of
equity for valued workers and to attract and
recruit good staff members.
To help with staff recruitment and reten-
tion, JARC offers a comprehensive benefit
package and a full employee assistance pro-
gram, as well as vacations and guaranteed shift
scheduling, which most other service agencies
don’
t have, Braunstein says.
“Providing staff and funding for state-of-
the-art facilities and programs is an ongoing
challenge,
” Luckoff says. About 75 percent
of JARC’
s funding is governmental; and
Braunstein describes Medicaid as “a moving
target.
”
However, Luckoff says JARC’
s financial situ-
ation is “very stable” and that it “has recovered
or is on the road to recovery” from previous
financial issues.
JARC’
s recent annual fundraiser Nov. 3 fea-
turing the band Earth, Wind and Fire raised
$1.8 million from about 1,500 participants, he
says, inspired partly by JARC’
s 50th anniver-
sary. Luckoff adds that JARC’
s donor base has
increased by 300 this year.
Philanthropy is essential for services and
staffing that are not covered by government
“My grandparents Ruth
and Manuel Feldstein
were part of the JARC
founding families. We
owe gratitude to the
early pioneers who had
the vision and strength
to have created this
organization. They, along
with supporters and team
members, should be very
proud of the impact they
continue to have on the
lives of JARC residents
and their families.”
— STEVE KATZMAN