The Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor has granted $60,000 in Jewish community emergency funds to Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County (JFS) in support of the Congregational Social Worker and JFS’ critical work caring for Jewish older adults in the greater Ann Arbor area. This grant was in response to significant unexpected funding losses in older adult services.
JFS’ WISE (Washtenaw Integrated Senior Experience) aging-based services for older adults include the “WISE @ the J” meal and social program, assistance for local Holocaust survivors and their caregivers, and a congregational social worker who serves members of Temple Beth Emeth and Beth Israel Congregation. In addition, Jewish older adults receive a range of services including transportation, resource navigation, care management, and supportive counseling. All these services have been impacted by a drastic decrease in funding from both public and private sources.
Washtenaw County has been a significant source of funding for JFS’ critical aging services – in particular, meals for those in need. JFS is the only provider of kosher Meals on Wheels in the county, yet the county’s funding does not account for the higher price of preparing kosher meals than non-kosher ones. JFS, in partnership with the Jewish Community Center of Greater Ann Arbor (JCC), also runs the only kosher “Senior Café” in the county, called “WISE @ the J.” Current trends show that enrollment in these programs, and therefore operational costs, is on the rise.
At the same time, Sarah Schneider Hong, JFS’ Chief Program Officer, says, “Funding has never been more scarce, the effects of COVID-19 are enduring, costs are rising, and we are all aging.”
And it’s not just food prices that contribute to the cost of the program. When older adults gather at the JCC for lunch, a JFS staff member is present to offer social and enrichment programming and to connect participants with services whenever the need arises. Until recently, the county funded some basic administrative costs. However, it has announced that it will no longer provide this grant. JFS will have to absorb the costs associated with case management, crisis assistance, memory and enrichment programming, and transportation for the WISE program.
In 2022, WISE cost over $30,000 for JFS to administer to more than 1,100 older adults in Washtenaw County. Based on anticipated need, JFS expects that amount to increase by nearly 20% in the coming year. With the county’s funding cut nearly in half, the budget shortfall that JFS must cover is tremendous.
Based on the numbers alone, Hong knows JFS has an imperative to continue meeting the community’s needs. “Looking at our 2022 data, 71% of WISE Aging clients reported an annual income of less than $25,000,” she says. “76% reported high levels of social isolation. How can we look away from that?”
Basic food needs are not the only critical service for which funding has decreased. In recent years, JFS relied on support from the Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and Institute on Aging and Trauma, a program of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), to offer person-centered, trauma-informed supportive services for Holocaust survivors, older adults with a history of trauma, and their caregivers. Due to an incredibly high volume of applications for this most recent grant cycle, the local JFS was not awarded renewed funding. This financial gap will be difficult to fill, as there are limited grantors making allocations for this purpose.
“Caring for the aging is a priority at JFS and central to our mission and values. Put simply, we need more resources, more reliable funding and more donors and champions committed to the well-being of older adults to enable us to continue this work. We are a critical provider of safety net services for local seniors, and we are desperate for more support,” says Hong.
Between the county, JFNA, and other private revenue sources, JFS lost in total over 75% of its $1.2 million older adult services budget in a very short period of time.
When JFS learned that essential funding on which they, and other providers in the sector, had relied for many years was at risk, they began to aggressively seek new funding sources. Unfortunately, they were successful in raising only a very small part of what is needed to continue to care for their clients.
When JFS approached the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor about helping to fill the gap, Federation leadership felt that the Jewish Community Emergency Fund should be used to help address the crisis. As part of its mission to provide and inspire philanthropic leadership and community building to nurture a strong, connected, and caring community locally, in Israel and around the world, the Federation maintains a Community Emergency Fund to address urgent needs, such as assisting organizations facing financial distress. In 2020, monies from this fund were allocated to local Jewish organizations to keep operations running during the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic.
To Federation Board President Jessica ‘Decky’ Alexander, JFS’ current situation called for action. “The work that JFS does to serve older adults is so critical, and the recent funding losses so abrupt, we knew we had to respond,” Alexander says.
In September of this year, the Federation Board of Directors voted to authorize $60,000 in emergency funds to meet JFS’ needs. In particular, the Federation Board recognized how essential the Congregational Social Worker is to supporting older adults in our community and directed the emergency funds toward maintaining that position as a critical safety net. 100% of the emergency funds from Federation will go to provide services to Jewish seniors in greater Ann Arbor, ensuring that these programs will continue while more long-term funding is identified.
JFS Executive Director Anya Abramzon knows how important this funding is for local older adults. “We are deeply grateful to the Jewish Federation for their quick response to our recent request,” she says. “As we work tirelessly to raise the much-needed funds for these essential programs, knowing that we have an ardent partner in caring for the needs of vulnerable older adults in our community means a great deal to us.”
To learn more or access JFS’ WISE aging services, visit JFSAnnArbor.org. To learn more about the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, visit JewishAnnArbor.org.