News & Impact

The nasty text message your 13-year-old received from a classmate saying that she is fat and ugly isn’t just mean. It’s an act of bullying. And the taunts, shoves, kicks, and pushes your 10-year-old son faces everyday at school aren’t just cases of “boys being boys.” They’re also bullying. “Bullying is a dehumanizing act that can take many forms,” says one of this country’s leading authorities on bullying, Barbara Coloroso. “It can be physical, such as beating up a classmate. It can be verbal, such as referring to someone by a racial, religious, or ethnic epithet. And it can be… Read More

Bay Area Reporter by Seth Hemmelgarn This summer, John Tighe and Ngu Phan adopted a baby. Tighe, 46, said he’s always loved children, but he’d spent years telling himself, “I can’t be a parent. Gay mean can’t parent. It’s not gonig to work.” But having Phan, 41, in his life helped. Read More from the Bay Area Reporter… Read More

UC Berkeley psychologist and philosopher Alison Gopnik, whose research focuses on the active emotional and intellectual lives of newborns and young children, will discuss her latest book, The Philosophical Baby: What Children’s Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life, at Jewish Family and Children’s Services in San Francisco, at 2150 Post St., on Thursday, October 7. The 6:30 talk is co-presented by JFCS’ family resource center—Parents Place—along with the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and Golden Gate Mothers Group. Tickets are $15 for the general public and free for the Friends and the GGMG.… Read More

San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, and San Mateo County Times by Sean Maher There is a flood of people in dire need of help for the first time in their lives, dubbed by some as the “new poor,” and they are swamping Bay Area food banks. New clients at Jewish Family and Children’s Services, a nonprofit serving five Bay Area counties, have increased demand for its food services fourfold since the recession started. Ramping up its efforts in turn, JFCS has enlisted about 1,000 volunteers — double that of previous years — to get word out about this… Read More

J Weekly by Sue Fishkoff, correspondent Robert worked for a Bay Area news organization until September 2008. That month the company laid off 15 percent of its nationwide workforce, including 58-year-old Robert. He estimated he had eight months of savings. It ran out in six months. In December 2009, 14 months after losing his job, Robert turned to S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services for help with rent, utilities and, hardest of all, food. Read More from J Weekly… Read More

Compassionate Companions are a part of the Palliative and End of Life Care program at Seniors At Home. Our comprehensive 25-hour training program prepares volunteers to support the care of clients who are in declining health, undergoing challenging treatments, or nearing the end of life. The next training begins October 12. The volunteer training program is led by an interdisciplinary team that works closely with clients with chronic or terminal illnesses to develop a plan to address their medical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs. Playing a vital role in carrying out this plan, volunteers provide practical, emotional, and spiritual support… Read More