News & Impact

J Weekly By Laura Paull As Sophocles surely knew, people often are able to absorb tragedy much more easily on a stage than in their own lives. That’s the principle behind an upcoming performance at the Castro Theatre, where a New York-based theater collective will guide audiences to reflect on the ultimate drama we tend to avoid. After staged readings of scenes from two plays by the ancient Greek playwright, the ensemble will ask: Is death necessarily a tragedy? “I see it, rather, as a transition,” says Judith Redwing Keyssar, palliative care director at Jewish Family and Children’s Services, sponsor… Read More

Many of us get to know Jewish Family and Children’s Services when a crisis strikes. Whether it’s a child struggling with a disability, job loss, divorce, or a sick parent, one bad thing can really knock you down. JFCS gets us back up. It happened to me when my sister’s dementia rapidly progressed. JFCS brought in trained professionals who knew how to manage her condition; her situation improved, and I was beyond relieved. When I heard about another JFCS client who is suffering from dementia and is all on her own, I was moved to share her story with you:… Read More

A few years ago Beverly* knew she was in trouble but didn’t know where to turn. Surgery left her with excruciating stomach and joint pain, making it difficult to walk. Beverly had to leave her part-time job due to her disability and was behind on her rent. One day she returned home to find a notice in her mail: her rent for her Peninsula apartment was going up $200 a month—an astronomical amount on her small fixed income. Feeling despondent, she talked to a friend who said, “Have you ever thought about calling JFCS?” “I never considered myself the type… Read More

“JFCS is our community’s safety net,” Teresa says, and here’s how: Struggling with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, Teresa felt lost and overwhelmed when she picked up the phone and made her first call to JFCS. An attorney in her early 60s who lost her job during recent economic hard times, she was suddenly unable to care for herself and was alone in the face of a medical crisis without family or close friends to help. Teresa says, “After getting home from surgery I could barely leave my bed, let alone care for myself or my home. Jewish Family and… Read More

Do the Good Thing—Please Donate to the JFCS Annual Campaign Ida has survived many hardships in life. She survived the Nazi camps as a girl in Poland and breast cancer as a middle-aged woman living in the Bay Area. But the one thing she says she can’t survive is being separated from Saul, her husband of 58 years. Saul’s been frail since his stroke. Ida can’t take care of him on her own, and the couple does not have children. Their fixed income is extremely limited and they can’t afford home care. One bad fall, Ida fears, would mean Saul… Read More

Do the good thing. “Many of us in the Bay Area are doing well, and I wanted an opportunity to give back to those who aren’t. I saw how JFCS helps so many different groups of people and, through volunteering with JFCS, I get to help improve their lives.” — David, JFCS volunteer In the Jewish tradition, isolation is one of the most painful forms of suffering. Part of JFCS’ core mission is to ensure that no one is lonely or left alone. Won’t you join us in doing that one good thing? David wanted to do the good thing,… Read More