February 2002
For more information, contact Jodee Fishman Raines, (248) 203-1487
At its January 28th board meeting, The Jewish Fund approved $2.1 million in grants for 19 programs providing health and human services in metropolitan Detroit.
The majority of the funds will be used to serve the Jewish community’s frail elderly, including $674,000 for in-home support services and $475,000 for a day care program for seniors with Alzheimer’s or similar illnesses. According to Mark Schlussel, Jewish Fund Chair, “Helping the community’s elderly is one of the top priorities of the Jewish community and of The Jewish Fund. The in-home support and day care programs demonstrate our community’s strong commitment, creativity and compassion in caring for its elderly. You will not find services like this at this level anywhere else in the region.”
The in-home services are provided in a coordinated manner by Jewish Apartments and Services, Jewish Family Service and Kadima to 1,400 seniors each year. Services include personal care, medication reminders, social work services, housekeeping and meal preparation. The program promotes the seniors’ independence and dignity by permitting them to continue to live in their own residences. There are cost savings as well. The program costs an average $5,200/client per year as opposed to $54,000 for a nursing home or $30,000 for assisted living, and has proven effective at keeping seniors out of these more costly living situations.
The adult day care program, formally known as the Dorothy and Peter Brown Jewish Community Adult Day Care Program, is operated jointly by Jewish Home and Aging Services and JVS. The program enhances the self-esteem, well-being and dignity of the seniors, while providing respite and supportive services for the family.
Helping individuals with special needs is another high priority of the Jewish community and The Jewish Fund. The January grants include $120,000 over 3 years to the Agency for Jewish Education to pilot a program that provides short-term, individualized assistance to Jewish preschool children with special needs; $75,000 for a third year to the Jewish Community Center to integrate children with disabilities into the Center’s recreational and social programs; $75,000 for a third year to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit for vouchers to help families purchase therapy, recreation, respite and other services for their special needs dependents; $75,000 to JVS to provide medical support for individuals with severe disabilities in its sheltered workshop; and two grants totaling $100,000 to Kadima for prescriptions and social work services for mentally ill adults.
In addition, two grants totaling $150,000 were awarded to the Detroit Medical Center. The DMC grants include $50,000 to the Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center to help purchase a state-of-the-art linear accelerator used in radiation treatment and $100,000 to Sinai/Grace Hospital to help create an Express Care/Urgent Care Unit that will help reduce wait time at the Sinai/Grace Emergency Room by separately serving those emergency room patients that have less emergent needs.
Some of the other funded programs include a new project at Jewish Family Service that will facilitate and coordinate spiritual healing programs in the Jewish community; a pilot effort by AIDS Partnership Michigan to work with the Sinai/Grace Infectious Disease Clinic; a partnership between Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Karmanos Cancer Institute to serve children with cancer and their families; and continued sponsorship of the Jewish Community City Year team in partnership with the Federation and United Jewish Foundation.
The Jewish Fund was created in 1997 from proceeds of the sale of Sinai Hospital to the Detroit Medical Center and has since awarded over $22.5 million in grants.
Following is a complete listing of the latest awards:
- Agency for Jewish Education: $105,000 over 3 years for individualized assistance for special needs pre-school children.
- AIDS Partnership Michigan: $40,000 to provide mental health counseling and help improve medical adherence of HIV patients at the Sinai/Grace Infectious Disease Clinic.
- Children’s Hospital of Michigan & The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute: $185,000 over 2 years to help children with cancer and their families.
- City Year: $75,000 to continue sponsorship of the Jewish Community team.
- The Detroit Institute for Children: Up to $60,000 for a Certified Nurse Practitioner to improve medical treatment for special needs children and their families.
- Jewish Apartments and Services (JAS), Jewish Family Service (JFS), Kadima: $674,000 for in-home support services for low-income seniors.
- Jewish Community Center: $75,000 for a 3rd year to integrate children with disabilities into the Center’s recreational and social programs.
- Jewish Family Service: $108,000 over 2 years for the Kehilah Program, a new program that will facilitate and coordinate spiritual healing programs in the Jewish community.
- Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit: $75,000 for a 3rd year to provide vouchers to help qualifying families purchase services such as therapy, recreation and respite for their special needs dependents.
- Jewish Home and Aging Services (JHAS), Jewish Vocational Services (JVS): $500,000 for a day care program for seniors with Alzheimer’s or similar illnesses.
- JVS: $75,000 to support the medical component of a sheltered workshop for severely disabled adults.
- Kadima: $25,000 to help purchase psychotropic medications for low-income, mentally ill adults.
- Kadima: $135,000 over 2 years for in-home social work services for low-income, mentally ill adults.
- Reggie McKenzie Foundation, Inc.: $35,000 for a 3rd year for a program designed to educate seventh through twelfth grade at risk youth in Highland Park to help them make healthy life choices and introduce them to health careers.
- National Bone Marrow Transplant Link: $20,000 to develop a strategic plan with a strong fund-raising component.
- National Conference for Community & Justice – Michigan Chapter: $17,600 to provide diversity training at two Jewish Apartments and Services buildings to improve both resident-to-resident relations and resident-to-staff relations.
- Volunteer Impact: $45,000 over 2 years to continue and expand the organization’s work to assist Jewish organizations in recruiting, training, coordinating and utilizing long-term volunteers.
- DMC/Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center: $50,000 to purchase a state-of-the-art linear accelerator used in radiation treatment.
- DMC/Sinai-Grace Hospital: $100,000 to help create an Express Care/Urgent Care Unit that will help reduce wait time at the Sinai-Grace Emergency Room by separately serving those emergency room patients that have less emergent needs.
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