DECEMBER 30 • 2021 | 31

J

ewish Family Service
(JFS) of Metro Detroit
and Jewish Senior Life
(JSL) are teaming up for a new
four-part family caregiver series.
The name of the program
is (Care)giving and Taking:
Making Time for You, a four-
part series to educate, empower
and connect family caregivers.
Taking place over Zoom,
the series will run the second
Thursday of every month at 2
p.m. Jan. 13, Feb. 10, March 10
and April 14.
The kickoff event on Jan. 13
is a panel with five speakers,
Lynn Breuer and Becky Eizen
from JFS, Barbara Giles from
JSL, estate planning attorney
Norman E. Richards and care-
giver resource specialist Robin
Hamilton-Morris, touching on
their areas of expertise includ-
ing caregiving, senior hous-
ing options, connecting with
resources and estate planning.
The guest on Feb. 10 is Rabbi
Elimelech Goldberg from Kids
Kicking Cancer, focusing on
self-care tactics with a program
called Breath Brake, leading the
group through an exercise.
On March 10, the guest is
Rabbi Laura Geller, author of
Getting Good at Getting Older,
who will be focusing on the
caregiving aspect.
The guest on April 14 is Dr.
Micky Golden Moore for “It’s

Okay Not to Be Okay,
” focusing
on the uniqueness of how we
experience grief and loss.
After those four months, pro-
gram organizers Missy Lewin
of JFS and Tracey Proghovnick
of JSL will conduct a follow-up
survey to assess what else the
population might need.
“
As sister agencies, we part-
ner regularly, and we thought
working together we could
really reach a large audience,
”
Proghovnick says. “Having this
support, knowing there are
resources out there and having
really great speakers lined up
to encourage, support, validate
and connect is something we’re
thrilled to be able to do.
”
Even while being exacerbat-
ed by COVID, Lewin believes
the need for support for fam-
ily caregivers has always been
there.
“I think some of us become
caregivers and have never been
a caregiver before,
” Lewin says.
“
And we don’t have those tools
in our back pocket to be able
to manage the caregiving piece
and to be able to manage our-
selves as well and make sure we
can balance both lives.
”
There will also be a focus on
those who have experienced
trauma, how to care for those
who may have experienced it
and for the family caregiver who
may have experienced it.

“We know, during COVID,
everyone’s experienced some
type of trauma, so that’s not just
specific populations anymore;
it’s everyone,
” Lewin says.
Those attending the series
don’t have to be Jewish, every-
one is welcome, and it’s free.
Lewin and Proghovnick hope
the series provides tools and
resources to help people move
forward in their family caregiv-
er roles, and to let them know
they’re not alone.
“There’s something about
when you know you’re not

alone, there’s comfort in that,
”
Lewin says. “So it’s about how
we can make sure we’re bring-
ing that to people because being
a family caregiver is one of the
hardest places to be in, and
sometimes we don’t sign up for
that.
”
The program was made pos-
sible through grant funds from
the Jewish Federations of North
America Center on Aging and
Trauma.

To sign up and/or learn more, visit

www.jfsdetroit.org/caregiver.

(Care)giving and Taking: Making time for you

A four-part series to educate, empower, and connect family caregivers

Taking care of a loved one can be difficult. So can ensuring that your own needs are being met during
this challenging time. It’s easy to feel isolated but Jewish Family Service and Jewish Senior Life

are here to offer family caregivers support, comfort and a sense of community.

Join us for our four-part series held virtually on Thursdays at 2pm:

Questions? Contact 248.592.2313

Take a
Breath Brake

with Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg
February 10

It’s Okay Not

to Be Okay

Dr. Micky Golden Moore
April 14

Moderated by Lynn Breuer, JFS
featuring Becky Eizen, JFS
Barbra Giles, JSL
Norman E. Richards, Esq.
Robin Hamilton-Morris, AAA 1-B
January 13

Taking Care of

the Caregivers

Author Rabbi Laura Geller
March 10

Caregiving Panel

To learn more or to register visit jfsdetroit.org/caregiver

(Care)giving and Taking: Making time for you

A four-part series to educate, empower, and connect family caregivers

Taking care of a loved one can be difficult. So can ensuring that your own needs are being met during
this challenging time. It’s easy to feel isolated but Jewish Family Service and Jewish Senior Life

are here to offer family caregivers support, comfort and a sense of community.

Join us for our four-part series held virtually on Thursdays at 2pm:

Questions? Contact 248.592.2313

Moderated by Lynn Breuer, JFS
featuring Becky Eizen, JFS
Barbra Giles, JSL
Norman E. Richards, Esq.
Robin Hamilton-Morris, AAA 1-B
January 13

Caregiving Panel

JFS/JSL of
ers joint caregiver
series beginning in January.

Help for

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER