Department spotlight: Jay and Rose Phillips Aging Care & Connections
This month, we’re excited to spotlight our Jay and Rose Phillips Aging Care & Connection (ACC) department. We sat down with JFS Director of Aging Care & Connections Rachel Rotach to learn about this remarkable team and their work throughout JFS and our communities.
Denver Candidate Forum on Aging sessions
JFS, AARP Colorado, Alliance for Retired Americans, Bell Policy Center, Changing the Narrative, the Colorado Center on Aging, the Colorado Commission on Aging, Next50, and others are hosting a series of forums for candidates running for state legislature. These candidate forums will focus solely on aging in Colorado.
Community Resource Fair
This in-person event features a variety of community partners and is designed to provide helpful information about JFS programs and services and beyond—all to benefit individuals and families within our community.
We are accepting clients for our homemaker support services
Could you or someone you know benefit from a bit of help with housekeeping assistance to remain independent in your home? The JFS Aging Care & Connections department employs homemakers who offer in-home assistance to older adults in the Denver metro area.
Fostering intergenerational friendships and reducing loneliness
If you are looking for a way to make a real impact on the life of a local person, consider joining our Friendly Visitor program. Friendly visitors are matched with an older adult or an adult with a disability for weekly visits or phone calls.
JFS is accepting new clients for our Friendly Visitor program
For many older adults, social isolation is an unfortunate reality. Whether an individual no longer drives, is less physically active, or has family out of town, many variables can contribute to maintaining friendships and interests. The Friendly Visitor program is here to help, and right now, we are welcoming new clients.
JFS celebrates National Apprenticeship Week
JFS is nearly one year into its Registered Apprenticeship Program, which began with two full-time, paid apprentices. Apprenticeship programs are instrumental in helping employers recruit and develop a skilled workforce to support their business.
Help Holocaust survivors afford necessities
We’re seeing a concerning combination of factors impacting our ability to serve as many Holocaust survivors as possible. As the cost of living continues to increase, there are higher health care costs, survivors are living longer, and more survivors are reaching out to JFS for support. Learn more about how JFS is working with survivors and what you can do to help us assist this special population with home care, medical and dental expenses, food, and much more.
Changing the narrative around aging
May is Older Americans Month, and this year’s theme is “Aging Unbound.” The awareness month is dedicated to exploring diverse aging experiences and providing an opportunity to discuss how communities can fight stereotypes, change thinking around aging, and how we all benefit when older adults remain engaged, independent, and included.
Older Adult Survey Offers a Snapshot of Needs
In different ways, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected all of us, but we also saw unexpected benefits. Throughout JFS, for example, we found new ways to connect with people throughout our community, identified ways to adjust our programs to be still able to help people, and became even more aware of the importance of meeting their needs. And, our Aging Care and Connections team continues to find ways to serve the older adult population better.
ACC and ACE: Cultivating Community Engagement
Lunch at the JCC is about more than enjoying a kosher meal. It’s about catching up with friends and making new ones. Now, thanks to JFS’s cross-departmental collaboration, our Congregant Meal program, which aims to reduce social isolation, takes a new twist to spark connections—and that goal is expanding in the best way!
Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony
The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz –Birkenau, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Kavod Senior Life is hosting a ceremony on January 27, it is free and open to the public. The event starts at 1:00 p.m. at Kavod Senior Life, 22 S. Adams Street, Denver CO 80209.
Sharing Gratitude
It’s heartwarming when a client reaches out to JFS to thank us for the services and help they’ve received. In turn, we’re grateful for our supporters who help make this a reality. We are able to help our neighbors in need because of your dedication.
Finding a path to meet community needs
It’s easy to list how the Covid-19 pandemic has negatively affected us, but there have been unexpected benefits. At JFS, for example, we found new ways to connect with people throughout our community, identified ways to adjust our programs to be still able to help people, and became even more aware of the importance of meeting their needs . Whether barriers were related to Covid-19 or just illuminated by the crisis, the Aging Care and Connections team continues to find ways to serve the older adult population better.
Caring for Holocaust Survivors
JFS is dedicated to providing financial assistance and resources to Holocaust survivors so that they can live with the peace, comfort, and dignity they need and deserve.
Making Connections Over Lunch
If you stop by the Perlmutter Room at the Denver Jewish Community Center (JCC) during lunch, you’ll hear laughter and snippets of conversations, but, most importantly, you’ll see older adults making connections while enjoying a hot kosher meal. Every Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m., those over 60 years of age are invited to join fellow community members for lunch.
Comfort, Compassion, and Resources Go a Long Way
What began with a phone call for help completing paperwork ended with one Boulder Holocaust survivor receiving so much more.
Meet Inna Oganesyan as She Celebrates 30 Years with JFS
Inna Oganesyan, Aging Care & Connections care manager, recently celebrated her 30th anniversary with JFS! We sat down to learn more about Inna’s career, the changes she’s seen in the agency, and her roles over the years.
Kristine Burrows on the Radio!
Kristine Burrows, MPH, director of our Aging Care & Connections program, was recently interviewed on KOSI 101’s No Copay Radio program. Listen as she gives an overview of JFS’s services and programs, our longstanding partnership with DRCOG, and how we are helping individuals of all ages get back into the workforce.
A Decade of Support for Mark
See how JFS has supported Mark for the last decade with care management, homemaker services, food deliveries, employment services, and more.