faces&places

30 | OCTOBER 24 • 2024 J
N

Gesher 
Awards Night
G

esher Human Services held 
its annual Awards Night on 
Sept. 12 at the Community 
House in Birmingham, celebrating the 
achievements of staff, participants and 
outstanding contributors. 
Janet Aronoff, one of the founders 
of Kadima (the predecessor mental 
health agency that joined with JVS 
Human Services in 2022 to form 
Gesher) was awarded Gesher’s high-
est honor, the 2024 Bridge Builder 
Award. Accepting her award, Aronoff 
explained that her pathway to philan-
thropy began because she wanted 
to “pay off the freedoms that I had 
that other people didn’t have” after 
reading about the atrocities others 
suffered during the Holocaust. When 
a local hospital that took care of 
people living with mental illness was 
closing, Aronoff realized the need for 

specialized housing for such patients. 
Thus began a 40-plus-year legacy 
of supporting people with mental 
health challenges, including provid-
ing staffed residential homes in the 
community and even hosting Gesher’s 
artistic enrichment program, Creative 
Expressions, at her home. 
The Impact Award went to Debra 
Silver, who for 20 years has coordinat-
ed the JOIN program, a paid summer 
internship program for Jewish college 
students. Molisia Young, who start-
ed working with Gesher in 2014 as 
a direct care worker and is now an 
integral part of Clubhouse (the facility 
offering support, engaging activities, 
educational classes and vocational 
support and opportunities for people 
living with mental illness) was award-
ed Employee of the Year. 
The Richard Ludwig Clubhouse 

Member Leadership Award went to 
Felice Nida, who moved into one of 
Gesher’s community support homes 
in 2021 and has now become a leader 
at Clubhouse, particularly enjoying 
working in the kitchen, participating 
in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra 
music group and also a writing 
group, all of which have improved 
her self-confidence. Eric Djordejevic, 
General Manager of Saint John’s 
Resort, accepted the Employer of the 

Year Award. 
During the 2023-2024 year, the 
nonprofit impacted the lives of 32,943 
individuals across Wayne, Oakland, 
Macomb and St. Clair counties. 
During closing remarks, Gesher’s 
CEO Paul Blatt said the organization 
hopes to increase that number by 
more than 8,000 next year because 
of additional workforce development 
projects, such as a recent one in 
Macomb County. 

LEFT TO RIGHT: 
Dani Gillman 
(Board Chair, 
Gesher) and 
Debra Silver 
(Impact Award 
WInner); Janet 
Aronoff (Bridge 
Builder Award 
Winner) and Elaine 
Greenspan; Annika 
Wilson, Richard 
Ludwig Clubhouse 
Leadership Award 
Winner Felice Nida 
and VP Vocational 
Rehabilitation 
Rene Dell

LEFT TO RIGHT: 
Molisia Young 
(Employee of the 
Year Winner) and 
Chad Techner 
(Board Member, 
Gesher); Jennifer 
Ludwig and Lynne 
Ludwig; Michael 
Berger (President, 
United Jewish 
Foundation) 
and Paul Blatt 
(Gesher, President 
& CEO). 

