Blog

When a Central African Republic family stepped off the plane at O’Hare Airport for the first time last year, Gail Nusekabel was there to greet them. She had never met this family of four before, but she was ready to help them as they embarked on a new life in the U.S.

Along with other members of her synagogue, Sukkat Shalom, Gail volunteers as a JCFS Chicago HIAS Immigration & Citizenship mentor, helping refugee families get acclimated to living in a new country.

For two weeks in May, residents of the adult living homes supported by JCFS Chicago monitored how much they were moving as they participated in Put a Step in Your Spring, a new exercise project conceived by nurse Janis Goodman to teach the residents about exercise and healthy lifestyles.

John came to JCFS Chicago looking for a part-time job for after school and weekends. John is funny, lighthearted and sports-obsessed, and he wanted to utilize his passion for athletics.  

As the school year winds down, many parents are preparing for the transition to summer camp and unstructured time in between. This is an ideal time to start reviewing with your child how to set and maintain personal boundaries in this new environment.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so we checked in with one of our Response for Teens clinicians, Zatio Kone, to learn more about the subject.

“I really think that mental health is about learning how to live with the range of human emotions and learning how to tolerate everything that comes our way,” Zatio said. “It’s ok to struggle sometimes, it’s ok to feel less than great.

In mid-November, my mother fractured her shoulder from a fall following a stroke. After a short hospitalization, she was sent to a rehab facility

When Alan reflects on his career and personal journey since working with JVS Career & Employment, he can’t believe how far he has come.

JCFS Chicago’s Outpatient Behavioral Health/Psychological Services has expanded its relationship with REACH, (Resources for Educational Achievement, Collaboration and Health), and now our clinicians are providing school counseling services within Jewish day schools.

Sixteen-year-old Maya was not attending high school on a regular basis. With her parents separated, the oldest of four became quite isolated and spent many hours online. She had very little contact with people outside of social media.  Maya’s mother contacted JCFS Chicago’s Response for Teens to get help for her daughter. 

Most of us in the Chicagoland Jewish community will gather for a Passover seder in a few weeks. This annual ritual often brings together different generations of family, friends, and sometimes new faces. This diversity can add to the richness of the experience.

At a time when the Israel-Hamas War has been dominating the concerns of much of our community, it presents us with some challenging moments. It behooves us to consider in advance if and how we might address the war at the seder table. Do we avoid discussion of the war altogether? Address it directly? Guide a discussion? Introduce themes of the war into the Passover rituals?