Social Services at the Sephardic Community Center: LENDING A HAND

People have asked, “What does the Social Services Department at the Sephardic Community Center (SCC)  do?” The SCC Social Services Department is a doorway to services, especially for people who may be faced with difficult life challenges but would not consider walking into a social services agency or seeking help from a therapist. Many people know the Center as the place to exercise and swim, watch children play in sports, go to summer camp, attend a social function, hear a speaker, bring their little ones to early childhood programs, or participate in trips. While involved in these activities, they also find supportive staff who lend a hand, provide a sympathetic ear and an understanding heart.

As an active community center for people of all ages, Center staff are trained to listen to the needs of members, whether an inexperienced parent learning to cope with the demands of a new baby, a teen admitting to a poor self-image and eating improperly, or an older adult adjusting to the loss of a spouse and a life alone.

Sometimes we talk by phone, other times we arrange to meet in the office. Often we hold informal discussions in the hallways, on the exercise bike and at events. Much goes on behind the scenes and many people are unaware that this takes place in our community center environment.

Depending on the person’s needs, we may offer informational resources or provide short-term counseling sessions with a licensed clinical social worker. If in-depth services are necessary, we make referrals to other agencies such as Sephardic Bikur Holim, the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, and the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island. As a participant in organizational networks such as the Task Force on Children & Families, the JBFCS Community Advisory Board and the UJA Vital Aging Network, the Social Services Department is well connected to numerous resources in the community.

The Social Services Department also organizes special events that address a variety of interests with issues that affect every age group. Young couples attend seminars co-sponsored with A-Time, which deals with issues of fertility. New mothers learn techniques from parenting experts on how to discipline and set limits with their children. Older adults attend monthly seminars with topics ranging from stress management to understanding Medicare Part D. The SCC also hosts a weekly Weight Watchers meeting. In collaboration with the Imagine Academy’s team of highly qualified special education experts, “Educating the Educators” workshops alert our Early Childhood and PlayCare teachers to early warning signs of autism. From seminars titled: How to Stay Thin and Eat Healthy, to Diabetes Awareness, to Self-Esteem for Adolescents, to Wellness for Caregivers—we do whatever we can to help people cope with life’s challenges and help create healthy minds, bodies and spirits of our community members.

The Bereaved Mothers’ Support Group, sensitively facilitated by Craig Podell, L.C.S.W., is an especially important program that has met monthly for the last 25 years and has served more than 125 people. One participant stated, “I was dead inside. I had no one to talk to. This group hears, listens, cares and shares, and to this day still helps me manage this most difficult grief.” Some long-term participants shared that the group has been critical to their survival. They have attended the group for many years so they, in turn, can provide support to those who recently experienced the loss of their child. Another member said, “I am living testimony to how I manage this unimaginable grief and carry on with my life.”

Other families cope with loved ones who suffer from memory loss. The SCC’s Afternoons Out social adult day program for people with Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss, transforms what is often an isolating, traumatic experience into something manageable. Two afternoons a week, group activities help people with memory loss maintain their active involvement in the community. Center visitors are often surprised to hear the laughter, singing and excitement from participants in this program.

One caregiver said, “Afternoons Out has given our family an outlet we wouldn’t have had before. Mom has done so much better since she’s been in the program. Her confusion decreases and it gives her a purpose and a place to go.” Another family member stated, “She’s as active as can be while she’s there. It’s helpful for us to see her having a delightful respite from her fog. It’s given our family, mother, and her aide an outlet we wouldn’t have had if she couldn’t get out from home. You’re doing G-d’s work.”

Originally funded by the UJA-Federation of NY more than 20 years ago, the Center’s Social Services Department continues to develop meaningful programs with the goal of providing comfort and care for people of the community in any way they can. If you or someone you know needs a helping hand, or if you have program suggestions, please contact Linda Eber, L.C.S.W., Director of Social Services, at 718-954-3154.