Martin S. & Violet Jacob and Family Tzedakah Fund Impact Report 2021

MARTIN S. & VIOLET JACOB AND FAMILY

Tzedakah Fund IMPACT REPORT 2021

YOU WANT TO BE THE PEBBLE IN THE POND THAT CREATES THE RIPPLE FOR

change.

--TIM COOK APPLE CEO

Jewish Family Service helps those in our community who are experiencing life’s most challenging moments. Through the generosity of the Martin S. & Violet Jacob and Family Tzedakah fund, a number of clients facing otherwise insurmountable difficulties were assisted by JFS over the past year.

When an individual or family comes to JFS for help, they are most likely facing a crisis or a difficult season of life. Families may encounter job loss, divorce, domestic violence, a serious health condition or the death of a loved one. Any of these situations could cause dysfunction to the point where a family cannot manage as they once used to. For individuals living paycheck to paycheck, unbudgeted expenses such as a car repair, illness or increase in utility bills, can prove disastrous.

Many of those who seek help at JFS may earn just enough to disqualify them from community programs, but not enough to allow any savings. Family Support Services (FSS) offers individualized case management to help these individuals and families maximize their resources to meet their basic needs and gain self-sufficiency.

The FSS team consists of five social workers, a bilingual support specialist, two social work supervisors and a director.

Our staff takes a collaborative approach when working with clients and empowers them to identify goals and develop

a personal plan of action. The goal of FSS is to help clients move past their crisis and into a space where they feel autonomy and control over their situation. FSS staff who are also social workers focus on acting as the “quarterback,” helping to identify, connect and facilitate access to community organizations and resources. They also act as liaisons with other agency professionals to reduce barriers and increase accessibility for clients.

Emergency financial assistance (EFA) is distributed in conjunction with the goals identified in the personal action plan. Social workers ensure that clients have their basic needs met, including a stable place to live, food for their family, utilities and transportation. JFS is the only service provider in the region with a significant flexible fund that can be used to address needs for which there are no other resources.

Social workers also provide a significant amount of supportive counseling and crisis intervention to address emotional and mental health needs. The stress and anxiety that JFS clients experience when unable to meet their basic needs often impairs their ability to function through a crisis. JFS provides the safety net and support our clients need to navigate toward growth. Our social workers are attentive, responsive, and always act to protect the dignity of each client.

YOUR IMPACT

BY THE NUMBERS

JANUARY 1, 2021 - DECEMBER 31, 2021 DATE

DESCRIPTION

FUNDS SPENT

2021

Emergency Food Assistance

$580.00

1/8/21

Emergency Shelter

$551.81

1/25/21

Home Health Care

$1,144.50

2/3/21

Furniture (Bed)

$188.00

5/24/21

Moving Expense

$400.00

6/21/21

Bed Bug Treatment

$2,009.00

12/16/21

Financial Literacy Course

$1,200.00

TOTAL AMOUNT $6,073.31 YOUR IMPACT Throughout the year, Tzedakah funds were used for Emergency Food Assistance. In 2021, $580 helped six families get food on their dinner table that same night.

Sarah is a single mom with four children under the age of five. She recently moved to metro Detroit to live with family members, but the housing arrangements did not work out and she and her children became homeless. When Sarah called JFS, she and her children were staying in a single motel room that was paid for by another nonprofit agency. She stated that

a food pantry gave her a pizza for dinner the previous night, but her children were so hungry that they ate the leftovers overnight. She did not know how she would feed her family dinner that night. Due to the global pandemic, JFS could not provide her with a physical food gift card that same day.

Utilizing the Tzedakah Fund, JFS sent Sarah an e-gift card for the grocery store where she was able to purchase food for her family online and have it delivered to her motel. JFS continued to work with Sarah to ensure that she and her children secured more stable housing and food.

Ed

came to JFS after experiencing extreme financial hardship

in part due to the pandemic. Ed and his wife both lost their jobs during the pandemic and have been struggling to make ends meet. They also had two children in the household: a toddler and an infant. Prior to contacting JFS, Ed and his family lost their housing and had been living at motels. The family had run out of funds. JFS assisted by utilizing the Tzedakah Fund to pay for their motel room so that the family would not be homeless while they worked towards becoming financially stable and securely housed. Through their work with a Family Support Services Social Worker, Ed applied for Social Security Disability and his wife accessed unemployment benefits until she found a job. JFS connected the family with housing resources and, eventually, the family was able to move into an affordable apartment.

Ellen was being evicted due to bed bugs compounded with issues of hoarding. JFS staff worked with Adult Protective Services and the apartment manager to determine that fumigation would be the best option, but expensive due to her hoarding. The fumigation company had to take everything out of the apartment, take it to their warehouse to treat, fumigate the apartment and move back all of her items. JFS partnered with APS and they agreed to pay part of the fee, but there is a per client limit on what they could spend. The client paid a small portion from her stimulus check and the Tzedakah Fund was used to pay the remaining $2,009 of the expense. A year later, we are happy to report that Ellen’s apartment is still free of bed bugs and JFS staff have been regularly checking on her to make sure her hoarding stays under control. Thanks to your generosity, the client was not evicted and continues to live in her own apartment safely with dignity and independence.

The Stein Family

has accumulated over $100,000 of

personal and business debt. They have been struggling with finding a proper direction on maintaining financial stability.

They reached out to JVS in the past, and were told that they will need more help than what they have to offer. JFS made the recommendation for them to receive help from an individualized service, catered to their situation from an Orthodox financial literacy service called Mesila. Mesila offers a premium level of one-on-one financial coaching for $1,200. Because of your generosity, the couple is actively engaged with Mesila. They attend their appointments and report feeling that the services are beneficial to navigating the debt they incurred.

Thank you

for helping us continue to serve as

THE HEART OF A STRONGER COMMUNITY