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A chief financial officer. A chief technology officer. A school principal.
They are just a few of the growing number of clients of Connect to Care, UJA-Federation’s initiative to help the Jewish community during the economic crisis. By the end of October, Connect to Care had served more than 8,000 people in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester through seven regional centers and UJA-Federation’s J•1•1 telephone information and referral service.
Connect to Care centers opened in the spring and offer a wide range of services — through agencies supported by UJA-Federation — such as employment services, supportive counseling, financial consulting, Jewish spiritual care, and pro bono legal services.
As to the clients, “It’s everybody. It’s anyone you could meet on the street,” says Linda Frank, lead social worker at the Nassau center based at the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center. For many of those losing a job, “it’s a long fall,” she says, adding she’s been surprised how many people need food. “The changes have rocked people down to the very core.”
Trauma Work
Connect to Care social workers are seeing first-hand how people are trying to cope, including a man in his 90s going back to work after being wiped out by the Madoff scandal, as well as someone who had earned $200,000 a year but now works part-time for $15 an hour.
Peggy Jaeger, director of Connect to Care for Nassau County, says there are bright moments amid the hardships. Through the Jewish Community Center of the Greater Five Towns, a Connect to Care client received a gift certificate to a local supermarket. The client likened it to winning the lottery, the first time the family ate fresh fruits and vegetables in months.
In the Manhattan Connect to Care center, “We talk about this work as trauma work,” says Susan Rosenthal of the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services. Multiple services are provided, she says, to reduce isolation and frustration, and to increase hope. Recession Breakfasts offer people a chance to share ideas and resources. For others, volunteering is a way to edge back towards the workforce.
Yaffa Schonbach, director of Connect to Care at the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island, says the program’s connection to the JCC, as well as other service providers, has helped clients with their many needs. There’s a kosher food pantry in the basement, and she was able to get children into the JCC’s summer camp at reduced cost, freeing parents to look for work. “Almost everyone thinks they just need a job,” Schonbach says, “But not having a job creates a host of other problems.” ♦
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