JFS Vancouver

ASTEH is now Sara’s House

Sara Ciacci, z”l, was a passionate advocate against domestic violence, establishing ASTEH, an emergency shelter for women escaping abuse. (photo from JFS Vancouver)

Sara Ciacci, z”l, is, in many ways, an urban legend – a name synonymous with impact, compassion and transformative change in our community.

Ciacci dedicated her life to fighting food insecurity, most notably co-founding the Jewish Food Bank in 1984. She was also a passionate advocate against domestic violence, establishing ASTEH (Alternative Short Term Emergency Housing), an emergency shelter for women escaping abuse. And JFS Vancouver has recently honoured Ciacci’s extraordinary impact by renaming ASTEH to Sara’s House, a tribute to her unwavering commitment to empowering women and building their resilience.

A survivor of domestic violence herself, Ciacci deeply understood the fear, shame and stigma that women and children face when escaping abuse. Her firsthand experience drove her determination to create a safe space where Jewish women and their children could find refuge and rebuild their lives.

Sanctuary for women, children

Sara’s House is a community-based housing facility providing security, stability and support to Jewish women and their children fleeing violence or at risk of homelessness. With the guidance of JFS counselors and care managers, women are empowered to explore their options and make decisions that lead to a safer, more hopeful future.

Over the years, Sara’s House has been a haven for dozens of women and their children. One such story is Abby’s.

When Abby first walked into JFS, she was overwhelmed with fear and desperation. Fifteen years into her marriage, a sudden violent shift forced her to confront the emotional, verbal and financial abuse that had been present from the start. She never thought she would find herself in this situation.

Abby recalled a comment from JFS executive director Tanja Demajo.

“Tanja told me she felt I had a very good chance of getting out of the abuse and I was a good candidate for ASTEH housing,” said Abby. “By the end, I felt overwhelming relief. It was the life preserver I needed to get out.”

A lasting tribute

JFS Vancouver is profoundly grateful for Ciacci’s legacy of dedication, empathy and action. With the renaming of ASTEH to Sara’s House, her vision of providing a haven for women and children will live on, inspiring future generations to continue the work of protecting and empowering those in need.

Community support helps sustain Sara’s House and the life-changing services it provides. To learn more or to contribute, visit jfsvancouver.ca/donate.

– Courtesy JFS Vancouver

JFS honours volunteers

At the Jewish Family Services Vancouver’s annual general meeting on Nov. 26, several volunteers were recognized for their work, dedication and achievements. Stan Shaw received the Naomi Gropper Steiner (z’l) Award; Candice and Todd Thal, the Paula Lenga (z’l) Award; Congregation Beth Israel, the Community Partner Award; Karl Biernbrodt, Richard Fruchter Staff Recognition; and Simone Kallner, the Sara Ciacci (z’l) Women Leadership Excellence Award.

– Jewish Family Services Vancouver

New school lunch pilot

Food insecurity by province or territory, using data from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey, 2017-18. (image from proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity)

Jewish Family Services Vancouver (JFS), Richmond Jewish Day School (RJDS) and Kehila Society of Richmond are piloting a new food program to enhance students’ access to healthy and nutritious food in a way that promotes privacy, availability and inclusiveness.

When RJDS needed support with their school lunch program after a contract with a former caterer ended, Kehila Society saw an opportunity to work with JFS and create a food program that benefits all families throughout the week, regardless of income.

With start-up funds provided by Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, once a week, JFS delivers hot meals to RJDS at no cost to the students or their families. These meals are healthy, plant-based, and available to all students. In addition, a community fridge and pantry program is in operation throughout the week. The start-up funds provided to the Kehila Society enabled the purchase of a fridge and pantry cupboard, which JFS, the Kehila Society and Richmond Food Bank keep stocked. Students and their families can access healthy snacks, dry goods, fresh produce and meals during school hours.

“The students at Richmond Jewish Day School have absolutely loved the weekly hot lunches sponsored through JFS and the Kehila Society,” said Sabrina Bhojani, principal of RJDS. “Our parents have also expressed their delight with this program, knowing that their children are receiving a warm, healthy and nutritious meal at school. The research is clear – good nutrition helps our children to focus, concentrate and self-regulate, which, in turn, results in improved learning and student performance.”

Proper nutrition plays a central part in learning, yet one in eight households in Canada struggle to access nutritious food, according to PROOF, a research program investigating household food insecurity – defined as “the inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints” – across the country (proof.utoronto.ca). That amounts to “4.4 million people, including more than 1.2 million children living in food-insecure households.”

Healthy, universal school meal programs play an important role in giving children and families access to nutritious and safe food in a non-stigmatizing manner when they need the support.

“School meal programs can play a crucial role in ensuring that all children … can eat healthy and nutritious foods – which, in turn, supports their ability to learn,” said Lynne Fader, co-director of the Kehila Society. “School meal programs are uniquely placed to address under-nutrition, by promoting healthy diets. Serving a free school meal increases children’s intake of healthy foods, especially among children with lower socioeconomic status.”

“All students deserve access to healthy, safe, nutritious and easily accessible food,” said Ilana Labow, director of food security, JFS Vancouver. “We are inspired by this vision and are committed to helping uplift students’ lives through delicious, good food. We look forward to nourishing this program together and watching it thrive and grow.”

– Courtesy JFS Vancouver

Innovators now online

JFS fundraiser takes guests on “plane ride” to a place above the clouds. (screenshot)

Jewish Family Services is doing something new with its Innovators Lunch. Normally a large in-person event, the annual fundraiser this year is an entirely digital experience that forgoes the usual format of lunch and speaker. And, for the first time, registration is free.

In lieu of a ticket, guests receive a “boarding pass” to click on, which will transport them to a virtual plane, rising above the clouds in what feels like a virtual gaming experience. An introductory message appears from Tanja Demajo, JFS chief executive officer. Once at their digital destination, attendees can navigate to learn about JFS services and the impact they have on the lives of clients.

An AI host greets guests, guiding them through the Gallery of Innovation to view stories focused on three different pillars of JFS services: food security, mental health, and wellness and senior care. There is an opportunity to donate and support the areas of greatest need.

“Even though we can’t physically connect with each other, we’re trying, through this experience, to engage people in this space with some imagination and playfulness, so they can see things in a different and inspiring way,” said Demajo. “As JFS’s major annual fundraiser, the funds raised are critical in giving us the assurance that the 3,000 clients who depend on us to feel secure and supported can continue to do so during the third wave of the pandemic.”

The Innovators event went live on May 4 and has been extended due to popular demand. Flights will continue to “take off” for another week. Visit jfsvancouver.ca for details.

– Courtesy JFS Vancouver

Jewish Housing Registry live

The Ben and Esther Dayson Residences, located west of the River District, is one of the residences managed by Tikva Housing, which is responsible for long-term housing solutions in the Jewish community, while Jewish Family Services works with those who require immediate assistance in finding a place to live. (photo from Tikva Housing)

On Dec. 2, Jewish Family Services (JFS), in partnership with Tikva Housing, announced the launch of the first-ever Jewish Housing Registry.

There are six agencies involved in the project: JFS, Tikva Housing, Vancouver Jewish Building Society, Yaffa Housing Society, Haro Park Centre Society and Maple Crest Apartments, each playing a role in addressing the issues of homelessness in the Jewish community in a variety of ways, including advocacy, financial aid and subsidies, and housing placement. Each agency has their own application processes, manages their own wait lists, and collects and stores their client data independent of one another even though their work often crosses over. Consequently, housing needs in the community are difficult to determine accurately. For applicants, a lot of time is spent completing similar applications for different housing providers.

The idea for the registry sprouted from a conversation almost 10 years ago among leaders of the Jewish community, including JFS, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and spearheaded by Tikva’s executive director at the time, Susana Cogan (z’l). With the housing registry in British Columbia not set up to collect data on cultural background, and tenant selection priorities based primarily on the housing needs of applicants, a gap focused on community building was missing. The purpose of this new registry is to improve operational efficiencies and also fill that gap – addressing specific cultural needs of our community, which can be fostered within Jewish housing developments; a priority not currently being addressed through any other agencies in the province.

“It’s exciting to see the partnership between different agencies come to fruition,” said Tanja Demajo, JFS chief executive officer. “This is a unique opportunity for us to use the database as a tool to integrate data, help us meet clients’ specific needs and have a better understanding of the issues of homelessness in our community. Having an opportunity not just to house clients, but also support them by building a Jewish community, is what it means for people to ‘create a home.’”

Tikva’s director of operations and housing development, Alice Sundberg, added, “It is commonplace for applicants to register with multiple housing agencies in the Jewish community, resulting in duplicate records, leaving the JFS housing coordinator having to complete a number of similar application forms from each agency. By having this centralized database, that step only has to be completed one time. We look forward to having up-to-date information available in real-time. It will be a huge improvement administratively and will help us better meet the housing needs of applicants.”

Phase I of the registry launched on Dec. 1 for JFS and Tikva to use, and Phase II will launch shortly for Yaffa Housing, Haro Park Centre Society, Maple Crest Apartments and the Vancouver Jewish Building Society.

“We also want to acknowledge that this registry was made possible because of a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation. With their support, JFS and all the other agencies using this software will be better positioned to serve those in need in a timelier manner. Having more accurate data will also serve us in future projects related to housing advocacy and assistance,” said Demajo.

Tikva Housing is responsible for long-term housing solutions in the Jewish community, while JFS works with those who require immediate assistance in finding a place to live. JFS also provides emotional support and assistance to clients residing in buildings managed by Tikva Housing.

For more information about the registry, contact Maya Dimapilis, JFS director of development and communications, by email at [email protected] or by phone at 604-637-3306.

JFS uplifts with enewsletter

In the first eight weeks of Jewish Family Services Vancouver’s COVID-19 emergency response program, more than 400 calls were received, 1,500 meals and groceries were delivered, and 672 hours of service was provided on the Community Care Hotline. In addition to the challenges, JFS has also witnessed many stories of hope and gratitude, and has recently launched the enewsletter JFS Uplift, which every week will share highlights of what inspires JFS staff and volunteers to do the work they do. The lead story in the inaugural issue was on the new JFS Breakfast Club program.

On May 11, JFS staff came together to pack grocery bags full of healthy breakfast items and packets of Play-Doh as part of the club program. Fifty-eight families in several cities across Greater Vancouver received their goodies thanks to the help of volunteers.

“We realize parents are under much more stress during this time of uncertainty, especially given their added roles as teachers and ‘playmates.’ The Arnold and Anita Silber Family Foundation approached Tanja Demajo, the chief executive officer of JFS, to see where we could help. Together, we came up with the JFS Breakfast Club,” explained Arnold, Anita and Stacey Silber, sponsors of the club. “Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day, so now healthy items are delivered to families. This is a great opportunity for us to get involved in supporting the health of young families. We hope to give parents one less thing to worry about during this difficult time.”

New families can register for the JFS Breakfast Club at jfsvancouver.ca/jfsbreakfastclub (some restrictions apply) and people who are interested in volunteering for JFS can email Kristina Moser at [email protected] or visit jfsvancouver.ca/emergencyvolunteer.

To subscribe to the JFS newsletter or for other information about JFS, visit jfsvancouver.ca.