When HIAS Immigration & Citizenship Director Shannon Ericson wanted to provide her staff with specific training, she turned to her JCFS Chicago colleagues in the Jewish Community Services program.

“I thought, there are people within our agency that are experts in this,” she said. “Let’s reach out.”

In the last few weeks, Bracha Jakofsky, Abuse Prevention Coordinator & Mental Health Educator, and Andrea Jacobs, Jewish Community Liaison & Coordinator of Family Building Support, have led two training sessions with HIAS staff, with more planned for the future.

The first training focused on professional boundaries and how to establish healthy boundaries with individuals, Shannon said.

“How can we support each other and ourselves in creating healthy boundaries so we’re not only caring for ourselves but also teaching and supporting others to develop their own skills to manage challenges,” she said. “It’s really empowering.”

Bracha and Andrea led that training session together. They have led Coloring Inside the Lines: A Workshop for Setting Healthy Boundaries at synagogues, CJE Senior Life and Metro Chicago Hillel, but this was the first time they had presented it internally.

“It’s so easily adaptable, and no matter what group we’re doing it for, it’s always interesting that the same issues are coming up,” Andrea said.

Shannon said the boundaries training has helped normalize her staff’s experience with their immigrant and refugee families, and she has received positive feedback.

“Oftentimes people are just grappling with how to set those boundaries, and sometimes they want more of a general conversation around it, what language to use and how to handle it,” Bracha said.

Bracha presented the second training session, which focused on recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental health and how to provide support or connect people to mental health services.

“The language barriers and cultural differences can make it challenging for some families to find the resources they need,” Bracha said. “We find creative ways to support them. They don’t have to do it alone.”

Shannon said the next training session with Jewish Community Services will focus on substance use.