Caring for Older Adults in Our Community
by Jane Gomez
The needs of older adults in our community are broad and diverse. From the active retiree seeking educational and travel opportunities, to the daughter-turned-caregiver looking for health services or respite care for an elderly parent, to the émigré longing for companionship, the group defined as seniors – adults aged 60 years and older – is hardly monolithic. Fortunately, Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest has a robust infrastructure of agencies that caters to the needs of older adults at all stages. A broad range of support and programs is available to all who wish to maintain an active, purposeful, and enriched life.
Greater MetroWest CARES (Committee Addressing Resources to Engage Seniors) is the coordinating arm for the more than 11 Federation departments and partner agencies that support seniors in our community. These agencies include but are not limited to: the JCCs of MetroWest and Central NJ and the YM-YWHA of Union County, which provide social, educational, and wellness programming; Daughters of Israel, which offers short- and long-term nursing and rehabilitative care; Jewish Family Services of MetroWest and Central NJ, which offer a wide range of health and social services tailored to meet the needs of their clients; and the Joint Chaplaincy Committee which provides chaplaincy services to meet the spiritual needs of those in hospitals, nursing homes, or hospice in our area. The mission that guides Greater MetroWest CARES is to promote collaboration and leverage all the diverse resources of Federation to provide seniors with the most effective services to meet their needs.
One initiative that embodies Jewish Federation’s commitment to meeting the needs of senior adults at all stages of life is the Senior Adult Program at the JCC of Central NJ in Scotch Plains. This program, which offers seniors a broad range of activities four days a week, consists of kosher breakfast and lunch, exercise, lectures, crafts, and an array of entertainment and field trips. Transportation to and from the JCC is available if needed. Participation in all or any activity is welcome. This program is so much more than a list of activities; for attendees and volunteers alike, it has come to represent a community of friendship and support. Randy Belfer, who has volunteered there for the past eight years and whose mother-in-law attends the program, describes the bonds that have grown among participants: they celebrate birthdays, play card games and form book groups. Strong friendships flourish.
“What makes the program so special is that people feel comfortable sharing and talking about how they get through all of life’s experiences, especially those relevant to aging,” says Randy. “The JCC’s Senior Adult program offers an accepting, warm community.”
For Amy Ganz Sadeghi, chair of Greater MetroWest CARES, Federation’s commitment to older adults has inspired her throughout the past decade. Amy became intimately familiar with the stress and constraints of caregiving when her husband’s grandmother moved into her home from Iran. Speaking little English and suffering from dementia, her grandmother-in-law required a multitude of services. Amy, who had always been active in Federation through Young Leadership and serving on the Women’s Philanthropy Board, turned to Jewish Family Service of MetroWest through which she was able to find medical and legal assistance. As a result of her experience, Amy became increasingly involved with the care of the elderly, eventually obtaining a master’s degree in social work. Amy is proud that Federation, through Greater MetroWest CARES, is able to provide an incredibly flexible array of services for seniors because of the interconnected nature of our Jewish community. She notes that our community “has the ability to meet the needs of seniors of all functionalities and to provide services that allow older adults to live enhanced, purposeful, and active lives.”
For a complete list of agencies and services under the auspices of Greater MetroWest CARES, visit www.jfedgmw.org/adults-60-and-eldercare or contact Marian Marlowe, CARES Coordinator, at MMarlowe@jfedgmw.org or (973) 929-3051.