May 5, 2009

Co-written by Max Kleinman, Executive Vice President, and Diane Klein, Associate Director of Planning & Allocations

One of the attributes of UJC MetroWest is our ability to respond to the unexpected. Over the years, we have raised funds and, in partnership with our agencies, developed programs for the influx of Soviet Jews, Wars in Israel, response to 9/11, and natural disasters, among others. The current economic crisis has touched thousands of lives in MetroWest and put a strain on our agencies as they struggle to meet increased demand for their services. This at a time when their own funding sources, including UJA, have fewer resources to allocate.

Diane Klein

In particular, we know that JVS and JFS are working tirelessly to make fewer dollars stretch to meet the demand. MetroWest HELPS, a special UJC fundraising initiative developed to assist families in distress due to recent financial setbacks, has helped. With close to $500,000 allocated, from donors, foundations, and our own Day School Endowment, MetroWest HELPS is supporting job placement and development, subsidized mental health counseling, emergency cash assistance, and tuition financial aid.

It is hard to put a personal face on this crisis when you hear the significant numbers of families affected. At JVS, the caseload of unemployed related to the crisis reached 259 at the end of March 2009, compared to 146 in March 2008. At a recent workshop at the Summit Jewish Community Center for the unemployed or those afraid of losing their jobs, 70 people participated. Many will become JVS clients within the next month, sending the caseload numbers even higher.

There’s some good news amid the bleak forecast. JVS made 24 placements in March into positions ranging from CEO to sales manager, purchasing manager, print buyer, security manager, car service driver, and teacher assistant. Salaries range from $10/hour to over $150,000 per year. However, most placements required the individuals to accept a significant pay cut — one senior executive went from earning over $200,000 a year to a salary of $75,000. Others went from fixed salaries to commission-based jobs.

JVS Workshop

Many clearly accepted low-end hourly positions (like the car service driver) only because they were unable to obtain anything else and desperately needed at least some income while they continue their job search. They will stay on the caseload even longer, and may also require help from JFS as they make peace with life’s disappointments and make the hard downward adjustments to their family’s standard of living.

Aside from mental health counseling, JFS assists individuals and families with the complicated processes involved in negotiating with creditors, identifying more affordable housing, and assisting with emergency needs (ranging from car repairs to utility payments)

So it may come as no surprise that from July 2008 through January 2009, the number of mental health counseling clients who are suffering from financial distress due to the personal impact of the economic downturn had more than tripled. Many, of course, no longer have medical benefits. The demand for counseling has come from families who have never before sought UJC-affiliated services. Many can’t afford to pay for their weekly sessions, and that is also where MetroWest HELPS steps in.

Many in the community have been looking for ways to be of service to their neighbors in need, beyond the donations they have made to MetroWest HELPS. Pro-bono attorneys have helped JFS clients with bankruptcy and landlord/tenant negotiations, and others have been instrumental in finding landlords who are willing to be flexible with rent agreements. People have reached out to JVS to post jobs as soon as they hear of an available position. Many have donated gift cards to grocery and discount department stores to JFS for distribution to clients for the purchase of basic needs.

With the widely ranging predictions of how soon the economy might turn around, we know that what we have raised through MetroWest HELPS is not enough. Some predictions point to a 10% unemployment rate before the economy stabilizes. It is likely that the crisis will not resolve itself for many families until sometime in 2011, since gains in employment traditionally lag behind economic recovery by six to eight months.

For all these reasons, our UJA Campaign has rolled MetroWest HELPS into our regular Campaign. We need your continued philanthropic support for the UJA Campaign because the needs continue to escalate even as there are bright spots in the economy. For those caught in the web of this crisis, it is comforting to know that there is a community that cares.

Help MetroWest so that MetroWest can Help.