Even as 2021 brought the promise of a vaccine and an end to the pandemic, many families continued to struggle with the health and financial impacts of the last year. For some who had managed to stay healthy and maintain their jobs, a sudden onslaught of the virus was all it took to bring them to their knees.
This was the experience for one young mom and her family.
In late January, JFS received two separate phone calls regarding a young single mother living on her own who was struggling immensely. This woman and her two children (a 1-year-old and 3-year-old) had all tested positive for COVID-19. The mother was quite ill and needed in-home support to help with her children, but there was no one she could turn to…Her elderly parents lived nearby, but were unable to assist because of the risk for infection. Finding someone to go into a home with three people infected with COVID-19 seemed impossible.
After receiving desperate calls from the children’s grandfather and from a concerned community member who knew the family through their synagogue, both Malka Young (Director of Allies in Aging, JFS Elder Care Management) and Maryann Cardani (Manager of JFS Family Assistance Network and Healthy Aging) put their heads together to find a solution. Maryann and Malka worked quickly to find a support for this family, both through their connections in the Jewish community as well as reaching out through social media, and were able to find three people who stepped up to help this family directly.
The family was so incredibly grateful, they generously donated to JFS, stating, “please let all the ‘machers’ (board members and execs) at JFS know what a wonderful person Malka is. She went SO far above and beyond to help us thru a very difficult period.”
Every day, JFS responds to families in crisis – moms and dads who are struggling to take care of their children, wrestling with illness, loss of jobs and other unexpected emergencies. It is only with the support of community members who give of their time and resources, that JFS is able to respond to the needs of over 5,500 community members each year, a demand that has dramatically increased during the pandemic.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED.
Follow the links below and ensure JFS has the resources it needs
to respond to our neighbors who are struggling during this difficult time.