During the coronavirus pandemic, Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona’s Older Adult and Adult with Disability Services programs have continued to provide robust services for the community. These programs include the Trusted Advisors Project, Jewish Elder Access, and Select Care.
Through the Trusted Advisors Project, JFCS provides short-term care management to Jewish individuals and families. TAP recently guided a disabled older adult in the many steps of the application for food stamps, coached families in tracking their stimulus payments, and assisted another disabled older adult in a transition home from the hospital since all of that person’s family members live across the country. Since JFCS staff began working remotely, they have worked with 30 individuals, including 18 new people, on a variety of goals including medical care management, budgeting, and navigating state and federal resources. Half of the new participants requested assistance in navigating issues surrounding COVID- 19, and JFCS was able to provide them with guidance via phone.
Jewish Elder Access has continued to provide telephonic guidance and referrals to Jewish older adults in our community. Staff reached out to those who were in need of acute assistance in the last year to offer support, referrals, and encouragement through this uncertain time. As of late June, JEA had spoken with 112 individuals to offer support, resources, and a friendly ear. Through its Home Safety funds, JEA provided one elder with the installation of grab bars and another with crucial electrical work.
JFCS’s care managers helped clients apply for unemployment benefits and food stamps, and reworked budgets to meet the changing circumstances that resulted from COVID 19. JFCS has utilized both video and telephonic platforms to support medical care management clients in receiving the services and treatments they need. The Select Care team worked with a family on a major life transition that occurred during this period of decreased in-person contact, using its connections to local supports to assist remotely.
For more information or to request assistance, visit www.jfcstucson.org or call 795-0300.
