14 | JANUARY 6 • 2022
OUR COMMUNITY
T
hanks to the generos-
ity of Detroit’s Jewish
community and other
funders, Jewish Family Service
(JFS) has been able to expand
its staff and volunteer corps
over the past two years, recon-
figuring and adding services to
help the community cope with
the stresses of COVID.
The agency was able to
pivot quickly to serving its
counseling clients via Zoom,
Facetime or video conferencing
rather than in person. Insurers
relaxed their requirements,
making it easier for the agency
to bill for remote services, said
CEO Perry Ohren.
JFS provides mental health
services (counseling), services
to older adults and community
safety net programs, such as
one-time cash grants to cover
emergencies.
Much of the recent expan-
sion was made possible by
grants that added $2 million to
the organization’s annual bud-
get, bringing it to $17 million.
The infusion enabled JFS to
increase its staff about 11 per-
cent to 125, which in turn has
helped to reduce the amount
of time community members
have to wait for services.
The agency still has 14 open
positions, said Wendy Uhrig,
director of human resources,
including a director of commu-
nity initiatives, social workers
and program managers.
The COVID pandemic has
taken a toll on all of us, Ohren
said. “Everyone on the planet
arguably has more anxiety and
depression than in the past.”
And those who were JFS clients
before COVID hit “need a little
more than they did before.”
JFS helps 15,000 people
every year and provides ongo-
ing services for more than
5,000.
Last year, JFS got a grant
from a partnership between
Oakland County and United
Way that enabled them to
increase the number of emer-
gency services recipients from
750 to 900.
Grants from the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit helped JFS expand
its counseling services to
the Detroit area’s Jewish day
schools; the school-based social
work services staff increased
from five to eight.
Marissa Preston joined JFS
as an outpatient clinical psy-
chotherapist in March 2021.
Providing services remotely
was a big adjustment for her
because she previously worked
at a residential treatment facili-
ty for children.
She works primarily with
children who are struggling
with isolation. “I think we
can agree that COVID-19 has
impacted almost everyone’s
mental health,” she said.
JFS staff were also concerned
about social isolation among
older adults during the pan-
demic. Most of JFS’s approxi-
mately 1,000 senior clients live
Funders enable Jewish Family Service to grow despite COVID.
BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
HELP WANTED
JFS is using
Uniper Care to
keep connected
with seniors.
UNIPER CARE (UNIPER)