A big thank you to our  partners, too. Almost 300 gifts  were collected and distributed.  Each year we ask our clients to  tell us what they would like for  Chanukah. All sorts of requests  come in. This year, one family  requested bedding and pots and  pans to set up a new apartment,  while another family requested  Legos for their youngest and art  supplies – a sketchbook, pens,  and charcoal pencils for their  teen. One senior asked for a warm  blanket. We know we can count  on our community to bring a little  extra joy to those in our community  who might not otherwise be  able to celebrate.

 All of the programs  and services are designed to engage,  empower, and enrich with a  goal of stabilizing and enhancing  the lives of those it serves which  is accomplished through four  main areas of focus: Counseling  and Domestic Violence Services,  Senior Engagement and Holocaust  Survivor Programs, Crisis  Response and Assistance, and  Community Programs and Education.  

In order to deliver the most  meaningful, relevant programs  and services that meet the community’s  need, JFS closely monitors  and takes note of emerging  patterns and trends. It’s what  guides the agency and helps determine  its offerings.  

Over the past two years, there  has been a significant rise in the  number of inquiries and requests  for services. This growth is not  just in one main focus area, but  from several. Increased calls for  emergency groceries from our  food pantry, people asking for  assistance with finding affordable  housing, help with navigating  resources, and then there are  those that are asking for increased  dollars amount when facing a financial  crisis. The call volume  and the services delivered have  grown immensely. For example,  in 2018, JFS served more than  twice the number of clients for  therapy then the previous year,  reaching an all-time agency high.  According to Howard Olshansky,  Executive Director, “As JFS has  continued to respond to the growing  needs of our community, it’s  become clear that we need to establish  a plan that allows JFS to  grow its capacity in a way that  ensures our ability to continue to  meet the needs while at the same  time maintaining the quality of  our programs and services.”  

In response to the growing demand,  during this year’s strategic  planning process, JFS identified  priority areas for the organization.  “When we looked at the  data and trends, it became clear  that there were a couple of significant,  pressing areas of need for  our community: older adults and  those coping with mental health  challenges,” stated Olshansky.  The older adult population is  growing in numbers and in geography.  JFS is now responding to  the needs of seniors down in Sun  City, SC, across Union County,  and in Lake Norman. And because  people are living longer  the issues related to aging are  more complex, JFS is creating a  Senior Engagement Department  and has hired a Senior Engagement  Therapist, who specializes  in delivering services in a community-  based setting, as well as  providing traditional therapy services  in the office.  

At JFS, we are also seeing increasing  levels of trauma in individuals,  kids, and families. In  order to respond swiftly and appropriately,  JFS trained and certified  its staff in the Triple P Positive  Parenting Program, which  helps families respond to issues  affecting teens and children and  issues related to topics such as  social media, bullying, depression  and anxiety. Rachel Green,  Program Director, indicated “at  JFS we are continuously looking  at ways to develop and stay on  top of best practices to enhance  the competencies of our staff. In  addition to the parenting training  staff has received, training is  being planned in areas such as  trauma-informed care, diversity  and aging and emotional health.  We want to ensure that JFS is  able to offer a diversity of clinical  interventions to meet the diverse  needs of our clients.”  

Serving the community to the  best of our ability means anticipating  needs and being prepared.  “I’m very proud that we have  always been able to serve those  in need, especially those in crisis.  We have never had to create  a waiting list for services,” said  Olshansky. “When I started here  in 2016 we had nine staff. We  now have 14. In fact, just this past  month, JFS acquired additional  space on Shalom Park because we  ran out of space in our existing offices,”  he added.  

Thanks to the generosity of our  community, we have been able to  grow our financial resources to  support the increased staffing and  meet the growing needs.  

As the needs continue to grow,  as we have seen in 2019, strengthening  our infrastructure is also  one of our strategic priorities. Ensuring  that we are well staffed and  have the administrative, financial,  and technological tools needed  in-house means that our clients  will continue to receive the highest  quality care and best services  possible.Y

As food pantries have grown  across the US, so too has the food  pantry at JFS. What started over  30 years ago, serving just a handful  of clients, helped almost 700  individuals and 336 families last  year. Designed to serve those in  the Jewish community who have  been identified as food insecure,  without the resources to provide  complete meals for themselves or  their families, the JFS food pantry  is a vital part of our Jewish community.  Once qualified, recipients  are given the opportunity to  “shop” every other week, by filling  out a menu request form. And  while some people have a hard  time thinking that Jews anywhere  could be short on food, especially  in Charlotte, the numbers of  people accessing the pantry, the  number of visits to the pantry, and  those calling for emergency bags  of groceries is on the rise.  

The Charlotte community is a  generous one and the pantry benefits  from individual contributors,  affinity groups and larger organizations  that help keep the pantry  stocked and running. JFS Community  Liaison and Volunteer  Coordinator, Roberta Rodgers,  ensures the operations of the pantry  run smoothly. “There are lots  of moving parts to keep the pantry  running and also to ensure that  each client is getting what they  need and want – we do our best,”  Rodgers said. “For some of our  senior clients who are ‘shut-ins,’  who are unable to get to the pantry,  we take their orders over the  phone and ask one of our volunteers  to deliver their order.” 

Rodgers explains that once  a month an order is placed with  Loaves and Fishes, an organization  serving Mecklenburg Country  who is dedicated to supplying  groceries for people in need.  JFS is considered one of their  mini-pantries. Smaller businesses  too like Poppy’s bagels contribute,  allowing our volunteers to  pick up bagels each week. “We  have a lot of volunteers, doing  many different things,” Rodgers  said.  

Frada Mozenter, a retired librarian,  and a dedicated JFS  pantry volunteer for the past 7-½  years organizes and sorts through  incoming donations. She collects  donations from the bins throughout  Shalom Park, completes a  weekly inventory, creates the  menu, and fills client orders. She  has seen many come and go over  the years in the pantry. “When I  no longer see the younger clients,  I often wonder if they got back on  their feet or if they simply came  on a day I was not there, or even  if they’ve moved. I miss talking  with them,” Mozenter said. “I  marvel at their resilience and confident  attitudes, something JFS  helps people with.”  

The Circle of Generous Hearts,  a dedicated group of women who  donate homemade, kosher-style,  individual meals to the JFS Food  Pantry are in large part responsible  for ensuring that the JFS  Pantry can provide Jewish families  with holiday meals for Rosh  Hashanah and Passover. Over the  past 12 months, they’ve provided  1,299 meals to the Pantry; for  everyday needs and for holidays.  One member shared, “We believe  in giving back, and I love to  cook,” she said, “besides, feeding  the hungry is one of the biggest  mitzvahs in Judaism.”  

And thanks to Shalom Park  Community Garden, a place  where Shalom Park community  members have the opportunity for  service, and learning about growing  organic food, the JFS food  pantry clients have received over  150 pounds of fresh produce this  past year, including tomatoes,  squash, peppers, greens, okra,  root vegetables, figs, and grapes.  

And what a blessing it is to see  a child ask for donations to the  JFS food pantry instead of birthday  gifts. We’ve even had adults  do this, too. This sort of giving  is catching on especially at Shalom  Park community and partners,  with food drives held by the  synagogues, schools, library, and  schools. This allows us to provide  supplemental food to clients in  need when they need it the most. 

We are grateful for the outpouring  of support. Each week  a list of items the pantry needs  is listed on the JFS website, at  jfscharlotte.org. The following is  a list of often requested items that  are often difficult to get:  Full size toothpaste, shampoo,  conditioner, bar soap; pasta  sauce, oatmeal, juice boxes,  canned salmon, vegetarian baked  beans, jelly, mayonnaise, ground  coffee, laundry detergent, cookies,  chip, snack items.  Wishing all a happy holiday  season. Thank you for considering  JFS.

Many thanks to The Blumenthal  Performing Arts Center for the lovely room and  The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) Center  for Advancing Holocaust Survivor Care, the granting  body who has funded programs such as this one in order to  connect, engage and enrich the lives of our community’s  Holocaust survivors.

Now that the school year is  getting started, safety will most  certainly be a major concern.  What should be put in place for  student and staff safety? What is  the best kind of security system?  Some schools are hiring more security  officers, others are creating  training programs for students.  Not only should this advanced  preparation potentially cut down  on harm to students, but it gives  students, teachers, and parents a  feeling of control. A feeling that  something is being done. And yet  our anxieties surrounding this are  warranted and very real.  

New data shows that school  violence is linked not only to  mental health problems, but to  physical health problems and  risk-taking behavior, including  drug and alcohol use. Social exclusion  and low self-esteem are  factors of violence and there is a  connection between being a victim  of bullying or fighting and  school violence.  

Actually, 30% of young people  admit to bullying and 23%  of high-schoolers report being in  a physical fight in the past year.  Students report being threatened  or injured with weapons on  school property and there were 82  school shootings in 2018.  

The Safe Schools Initiative Report  suggests that 71% of school  violence attackers were victims  of bullying; a resounding 87% of  the offenders left evidence that  they were bullied severely.  

Clearly this is troublesome,  but perhaps not as troubling as  it seems. Just 1.2% of all youth  fatalities occur in school. A full  30% of pediatric deaths are suicides  and in several states, the  number of pediatric firearm fatalities  is greater than pediatric motor  vehicle deaths.  

And while we continue to be  inundated with horrific news  stories, there is progress being  made in efforts to prevent school  violence. A heightened awareness  and structured conversation  among parents, teachers, community  partners, and students is  helpful. Not only is there more  awareness but there is a better  understanding of the indicators  leading up to school violence and  possible actions to take to prevent  it.  

As parents we can help:  

1. If you do choose to keep  firearms at home, ensure that they  are securely locked, that ammunition  is locked and stored separately,  and that children know  weapons are never to be touched  without your express permission  and supervision.  
2. Take an active role in your  children’s schools. Talk regularly  with teachers and staff.  
3. Act as role models. Settle  your own conflicts peaceably and  manage anger without violence.  
4. Listen to and talk with your  children regularly. Find out what  they’re thinking on all kinds of  topics. Create an opportunity for  two-way conversation, which  may mean forgoing judgments.  
5. Set clear limits on behaviors  in advance. Discuss punishments  and rewards in advance, too; it  teaches self-discipline.  
6. Communicate clearly on the  violence issue. Explain that you  don’t accept and won’t tolerate  violent behavior. Discuss what  violence is and is not. Answer  questions thoughtfully. Listen to  children’s ideas and concerns.  
7. Help your children learn how  to examine and find solutions to  problems. Kids who know how to  approach a problem and resolve  it effectively are less likely to be  angry, frustrated, or violent. 
8. Discourage name-calling  and teasing. These behaviors often  escalate.  
9. Insist on knowing your children’s  friends, whereabouts, and  activities. It’s your right. Make  your home an inviting and pleasant  place for your children and  their friends; it’s easier to know  what they’re up to when they’re  around.  
10. Work with other parents  to develop standards for school  related events, acceptable out of  school activities and places, and  required supervision. Support  each other in enforcing these  standards.  
11. Make it clear that you support  school policies and rules  that help create and sustain a safe  place for all students to learn. 
12. Join up with other parents,  through JFS workshops, school  activities and neighborhood and  synagogue organized events.  Talk with each other about violence  problems, and concerns  about youth in the community. 

At Jewish Family Services, we make the social, emotional, and  physical well-being of our community  a priority. We work with  our partners on Shalom Park offering  educational workshops  on parenting and mental health.  Through the counseling of parents  and adolescents, we are able  to provide the skills needed for  better outcomes in the home and  school. If you or someone you  now needs help, call us at 704-  364-6594 or go to jfscharlotte.  org.