NEIL NEWSTEIN
Wellington Man Has Dedicated His Life To Taking Care Of People In Need Story by Deborah Welky Photos by Abner Pedraza
Neil Newstein’s parents, both social workers, wanted a doctor in the family, and they got one. It just wasn’t Neil; it was his sister. “As an undergraduate back in 1966, I was exposed to professional social work through some college professors, who sent me out into the field to work with families in trouble,” Newstein recalled. “That’s when I saw that life was not always common, pleasant and middle-class. I became enamored with the field and got a graduate degree in it. I didn’t know my parents had wanted me to become a doctor. But they were thrilled. Social work is in my blood, as well as in my mind.” Newstein, a Wellington resident, spent the next 48 years helping thousands of families with special needs, the last 28 of them with the Alpert Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JFCS) and the Levine Residential Family & Children’s Service. He retired as CEO, planning to stay on in a volunteer capacity. “My retirement lasted all of three weeks,” Newstein said. “Then I was asked to be the interim director of JFCS in Broward until they find a new director. So I’m back in the saddle.” Newstein, 72, expects the search for a director to last four to six months. “Then I’m really set on hanging up my armor and briefcase,” he said. “Of course, I’m still volunteering in West Palm Beach, and I’m going to continue to do that.” Having helped create both the LifePlanning and Guardianship programs for JFCS, Newstein looks forward to his volunteer status. It will allow him to keep an eye on things, even though he has full faith
in the current CEO, Jenni Frumer. After all, she is his wife. Newstein said the mission of the agency is to provide a safety net for people. “Social services, especially for the mentally ill and disabled, hardly exist in Florida. We rank at the bottom of the U.S. In fact, most mental health services are provided in jails. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has said that the jail has become one big psychiatric hospital,” Newstein explained. “That’s not really the purpose of jail and, with no follow-up, it’s a revolving door.” The LifePlanning program reaches out to families, especially those in which an aging parent is trying to plan for the future of a disabled adult child. Information and individualized consultations both are available. “We were running into situations where we were trying to help an 80-year-old with medical problems get into a nursing home and a 50-year-old disabled adult would be sitting in the corner wondering what’s happening to mom,” Newstein said. “We saw that over and over again. We run educational seminars on a series of subjects, including public benefits, private financial planning and residential facilities that might be helpful. We work with other children to help the disabled child. We talk about vocational opportunities and about how to appraise your child’s abilities realistically.” The seminars are offered throughout the year,
HERO
10th Anniversary |wellington the magazine| October 2014
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