News & Impact

See our Ukraine response resources > Ukrainian Refugees in the Bay Area Receive Housing and Life-Saving Medical Care through JFCS Olesia and her family were living in Kyiv when the war started. That very day, she and her husband, Volodymyr, packed their two children, ages 15 and 22 months, and a few belongings in the car and left. The roads were nearly impassable due to traffic from people fleeing the war, and the family had to stop frequently to shelter from incoming bombs, which was especially difficult as their oldest daughter, Yaroslava, relies on a wheelchair. Olesia and her family… Read More

The California Assembly and Senate have released their joint budget agreement, a critical step in the State’s annual budget approval process. It includes two of our Jewish community’s most important priorities—Holocaust and genocide education and caring for vulnerable survivors. Anita Friedman, JFCS’ Executive Director, says, “The voice of California’s Jewish Community has been heard. Now our survivors can continue to age with dignity and every child in our State will learn about antisemitism, about the Holocaust, and about how—and why—to stand up against hate.” These critical funds include: $3 million to renovate and expand the JFCS Holocaust Center. The JFCS… Read More

There is overwhelming evidence that today’s youth are facing a mental health crisis. A recent ACLU survey found that 45% of California students feel depressed, while CDC data shows that mental health-related emergency room visits are up 31% for people aged 12 – 17. It is clear why the American Academy of Pediatrics has declared children’s mental health a national emergency and clear too that action needs to be taken. As a leading provider of mental health services, JFCS’ Center for Children and Youth (CCY) is witnessing this crisis firsthand. The obvious need for action inspired CCY’s experienced advocacy team… Read More

Over the last year, JFCS’ Koret Fellows empowered Bay Area teens to bring about change while supporting communities in need. Thanks to their efforts, local youth learned about issues affecting seniors, children, families, and our society as a whole and applied what they learned to design and implement a wide variety of impactful service projects. As their fellowships draw to a close, we are celebrating the contributions of these talented emerging leaders, whose creativity, skills, and dedication inspired youth and helped our community. Meet the 2021 – 2022 JFCS Koret Fellows Carla Naylor What does it mean to you to… Read More

“Everyone I met was traumatized. When children were given art supplies, they drew tanks, machine guns, rockets. And homes, right alongside,” says Anna Lushtak, a longtime friend of Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) and member of our Emigre Committee, who recently spent two weeks volunteering in Poland with Ukrainian refugees. For Anna, who emigrated to the US from the former Soviet Union decades ago and received resettlement assistance from JFCS, the plight of the refugees felt deeply personal. Describing what motivated her to share her time and skills, Anna says, “I was watching what was going on in desperation.… Read More

  “I love Passover because for me it is a cry against indifference, a cry for compassion.” ⁠—Elie Wiesel With this extraordinary humanitarian effort continuing into a second month, you are taking action to provide lifesaving help for Ukraine. Thank you. We are overwhelmed by and grateful for the generosity of our JFCS community. Update on JFCS’ Ukraine Relief Efforts Locally, JFCS’ Emigre Services professionals are providing essential legal aid, information, referrals, and counseling to the large number of families in our community with close relatives in Ukraine and overseas. JFCS is deeply engaged in refugee resettlement and efforts to… Read More