Jewish Family Services of OC

Dr. Alan Zamosky, CEO of Jewish Family Service (JFS) of Orange County spoke to the Spectrum Rotary Club about the non-partisan organization. Jewish Family Service, serves approximately 7,200 people of all races, ethnicities and religions per year in all of its programs.

Though the Orange County JFS is one of the smallest in the nation it has been around since 1965. JFSOC is currently housed at the Samueli Campus in Irvine and, as stated above, serves tens of thousands of individuals throughout Orange County. Dr. Zamosky highlighted four service areas:

Older Adults

• Counseling
  
• Information, consultation and referral services
  
• Care management working with older adults and families
  
• Care management and health education to Woodbridge Manor retirement homes
  
• Bereavement and caregiver support
  
• Holocaust survivor group to help care for aging Holocaust survivors; social functions for Holocaust survivors (this is the ONLY service specific to Jewish community)
  
• Silver Streak: a transportation service (currently looking for volunteer drivers), which is creating mobility sites throughout Orange County utilizing volunteer drivers
  

Counseling Support Groups

• Individual, couple and family therapy (sliding scale) with licensed Marriage Family Therapists (MFT) and Clinical
• Social Workers (LCSW)
  
• Support groups
  
• Bereavement groups
  
• Counseling for anxiety and depression
  

Financial Empowerment

• Emergency assistance providing a hand up, not just a hand out
  

Vocational services

• Employment skills counseling
• Job search skills
• "Women Forward" a program for middle aged women who are in a crisis transition served by women peer mentors
  

Community Outreach

• Provides resources through JFSOC and other services in Orange County
• Rabbi services to hospitals, hospices, prisons and jails
• "Adopt a Family" providing families in need with holiday food and items (currently serves 90 to 100 families in OC)
  

JFSOC provides volunteer opportunities through its Big Friend / Little Friend program; Special Needs Commission (led by Dr. Jan Weiner), which provides support to families with members who have special needs and promotes inclusion for those with special needs.

The Special Needs Commission provides services to all individuals with special needs, and has a "No Denial" policy, from birth to death. The Commission also provides a lot of interfacing with other existing programs and has empirical evidence to support the success of the program.

Jewish Family Service of Orange County aspires for a community where no one is alone and without hope. They strive to ensure that everyone in the community has access to a lifeline of support. Their programs are open to all who ask for help.