Unless otherwise noted, all events are virtual. Some events require an RSVP or enrollment in our programs, so please confirm your spot in advance. Please check directly with JFS on program dates, as dates may change.
Start your week off with a habit to help foster happiness! As we face ever changing uncertainty in our daily lives, we know there are habits that foster happiness regardless of our circumstances.
Join us as we start our week developing simple habits for greater happiness based on experts in the field.
Happiness Habits is a free hallf-hour program in partnership between JFS, the Kansas City Public Library, and the Greater Kansas City Mental Health Coalition.
The program is open to anyone, but registration is required through the library’s website.
Register Here:
https://www.kclibrary.org/node/29440/register
Each half-hour interactive program has a theme.
Happiness Habits Topics
• March 15: Media’s Impact on Happiness
•March 22: Impact of games on Happiness
•March 29: Finding Happiness in the Spring
•April 5: Happiness with our Pets/Animals
•April 12: Physical & Mental Health’s impact on Happiness
•April 19: Happiness through Mindfulness
•April 26: YOUR Happiness
For more information, please email navigator@jfskc.org or call (913) 327-8250.
Start your week off with a habit to help foster happiness! As we face ever changing uncertainty in our daily lives, we know there are habits that foster happiness regardless of our circumstances.
Join us as we start our week developing simple habits for greater happiness based on experts in the field.
Happiness Habits is a free hallf-hour program in partnership between JFS, the Kansas City Public Library, and the Greater Kansas City Mental Health Coalition.
The program is open to anyone, but registration is required through the library’s website.
Register Here:
https://www.kclibrary.org/node/29440/register
Each half-hour interactive program has a theme.
Happiness Habits Topics
• March 15: Media’s Impact on Happiness
•March 22: Impact of games on Happiness
•March 29: Finding Happiness in the Spring
•April 5: Happiness with our Pets/Animals
•April 12: Physical & Mental Health’s impact on Happiness
•April 19: Happiness through Mindfulness
•April 26: YOUR Happiness
For more information, please email navigator@jfskc.org or call (913) 327-8250.
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health and must be a priority. Join JFS and Erik Hulse, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher at the Midwest Alliance for Mindfulness, who will guide participants through his Loving Kindness program to help establish routines and habits to strengthen mental health.
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- Join on Facebook Live facebook.com/jfskc
OR Join on Zoom
Meeting ID: 964 8553 4851
This year’s Tisha B’Av observances will include a virtual discussion at 4 p.m., July 18: From Destruction to Redemption: Personal Stories of Addiction and Recovery hosted by the Rabbinical Association and Jewish Family Services of Greater Kansas City.
Hear from members of the community who have suffered personally or have a loved one who has suffered from addiction. The program will also include reflection of the path from addiction to recovery as a form of transition from destruction to redemption.
Participants will include: Rabbi David M. Glickman, Congregation Beth Shalom, who will share the story of his brother’s struggles with addiction; Mia Cohen, a recording artist and social media branding specialist currently working for Jewish Family and Career Services in Atlanta; a college student; an adult who has struggled with addiction; and Marla Kauffman, executive director and founder of Jewish Addiction Awareness Network (JAAN), whose son is in a long-term recovery from substance use disorder. Kauffman has been active in the Seattle Jewish community since relocating there with her husband, Joe, in November 2019.
Sarah Link Ferguson, development officer at First Call and member of Congregation Koi Ami, will moderate the discussion. Ferguson is also a member of the recovery community and has written about her experience as a Jewish person in recovery for outlets such as Tablet magazine and the Temper. She is passionate about destigmatizing issues such as mental illness and substance use disorder especially within the Jewish community.
“We are excited to hold this important community discussion especially at this time. Talking about addiction has always been somewhat of a taboo subject in the Jewish community, but the number of individuals with substance abuse disorder has dramatically increased due to the pandemic,” said Rabbi Jonathan Rudnick, Community Chaplain at Jewish Family Services and co-organizer of the event. “We are hoping this will be the beginning of many more discussions and a pathway to help for many individuals.”
Register for the virtual program : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSer_AM1wqqIJlc75r4FTpuiercPI_eRPrjOM9rBJK28LRcDsQ/viewform.
Tisha B’Av (The nineth day of the Hebrew month of Av) is a day of national mourning. The holiday primarily commemorates the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples, but also other tragedies of the Jewish people. The community Tisha B’Av observance will be held at 9:30 p.m. July 17 at Beth Shalom and online.
For more information, visit kcrabbi.org or contact Annette Fish, Rabbinical Association Administrator/Program Director at afprogram@aol.com or 913-327-8226.
We live in a hectic, fast-paced world now made more challenging by the ongoing pandemic. More people are experiencing stress and anxiety and are reaching out for tools to help them cope with our complex reality.
To address the rising need, Jewish Family Services is offering Mindful Mondays, a free, virtual mindful training program offered every Monday from 11:30 a.m. to noon through Dec. 13.
Using the Zoom platform, the sessions are free, but registration is required at Mindful Mondays registration link. Once registered, participants will receive a link to join each session. Participants may attend one or all virtual sessions.
Mindfulness is a practice anchored in science and focused on being intensely aware of what an individual is sensing and feeling in the moment without interpretation of judgement.
Led by Sondra Wallace, MSED, JFS YouBeYou and Mental Health Coalition Coordinator and Julia Grimm, LMLP, JFS therapist.
Weekly themes:
Sept. 27: Self-Compassion
Oct. 4: Generosity
Oct. 11: Non-Judging
Oct. 18: Body Scan
Oct. 25: Letting Go
Nov. 1: Sitting with Emotions
Nov. 8: Trust
Nov. 15: Values
Nov. 29: Generosity
Dec. 6: Acceptance
Dec. 13: Patience
For more information, contact Sondra Wallace at swallace@jfskc.org.
Learn more about the critical challenges facing Kansas Citians and how JFS is responding during our virtual speaker series beginning Oct. 15.
For our first session, join Laura Gilman, LCSW, MSW, MA, Director of Older Adult Services, and Kelly G. Loeb, MSW, Older Adult Care Manager, and Medicare Counselor, to learn how JFS is offering older adults more options for living independently while saving them and the community thousands of dollars. Register here.
The 45-minute sessions will include current stories from clients, an overview of issues, and interactive discussions with organizational leaders. The sessions are free, but advance registration is required for each session.
“Working with more than 10,000 individuals a year, our team has a unique lens into the complicated problems facing Kansas Citians. This series is an opportunity for the public to learn more about the critical social issues we’re collectively tackling,” said Don Goldman, Executive Director and CEO of JFS. “It’s also an opportunity to have a dialog with us about the evolving challenges due to the pandemic.”
Medicare re-enrollment is just around the corner and Jewish Family Services is offering free consultations to help individuals sort through options and save money. Dec. 7 is the last day to enroll. Our experts will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Medicare counseling is by appointment only for all Medicare-eligible current and new JFS clients regardless of income. Appointments are offered via Zoom, in-person or phone.
Medicare experts Kelly G. Loeb, MSW, and Liz Conaway Muensch, JFS Older Adult Care Managers, provide impartial, unbiased counseling and education. JFS does not provide insurance, brokerage services and has no financial stake in assisting beneficiaries with Medicare choices.
“Our main goal is to help educate and save people money,” said Kelly G. Loeb. Last year, individuals who received JFS Medicare counseling enjoyed an average savings of $2,805 per person for a collective total savings of $790,409.
“Even if a beneficiary’s medications haven’t changed in a year, it’s still a good idea to review coverage – savings can come from switching pharmacies, using a mail order service for or even receiving some medications at no cost through patient assistance programs,” Kelly said.
During the 30- to 60-minute consultations, plan details including prescription and other healthcare savings will be discussed. Individuals must bring a current list of prescription medications and their red, white, and blue Medicare cards.
To schedule an appointment for free Medicare counseling, call (913) 327-8278 or email medicare@jfskc.org. Have questions? View our most commonly asked Medicare Counseling FAQs 2021.
The JFSKC Grief and Loss Support Group meet each first and third Wednesday of each month.
The ongoing support group is for individuals grieving
the death of a loved one. The group provides an opportunity
to address issues of loss and grief within a Jewish spiritual
context in a warm and confidential environment.
The program is co-facilitated by
Sondra Wallace, and Rabbi Mark Levin.
To register for the support group, contact Sondra Wallace at 913-730-1452.
The JFSKC Grief and Loss Support Group meet each first and third Wednesday of each month.
The ongoing support group is for individuals grieving
the death of a loved one. The group provides an opportunity
to address issues of loss and grief within a Jewish spiritual
context in a warm and confidential environment.
The program is co-facilitated by
Sondra Wallace, and Rabbi Mark Levin.
To register for the support group, contact Sondra Wallace at 913-730-1452.
The JFSKC Grief and Loss Support Group meet each first and third Wednesday of each month.
The ongoing support group is for individuals grieving
the death of a loved one. The group provides an opportunity
to address issues of loss and grief within a Jewish spiritual
context in a warm and confidential environment.
The program is co-facilitated by
Sondra Wallace, and Rabbi Mark Levin.
To register for the support group, contact Sondra Wallace at 913-730-1452.