Thanks to a generous grant, the Jewish Family and Counseling Services of Jersey City, Bayonne and Hoboken (JFCS) is going to open a Hoboken office to counsel local residents who are still dealing with the aftereffects of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The $55,000 one-year grant from the United Jewish Community’s (UJC) Emergency Relief Fund will allow JFCS to open and staff an office at 51 Garden St. within the next two weeks. UJC has so far disbursed nearly $2.2 million from its Emergency Relief Fund, which has helped dozens of Jewish social service agencies in New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C. and other areas respond to post-Sept. 11 needs.
“We have been fortunate to be given this money from a national organization and are even more fortunate that we were able to find such a marvelous space,” said Dana Mallach, the executive director of JFCS Tuesday.
The office space was made possible by the Applied Companies of Hoboken, which according to Mallach, offered JFCS an incredibly reduced rate. “This will be a service where people affected by the World Trade tragedy can come in and get counseling free of charge,” Mallach said.
The service in Hoboken is opened to anyone in Hoboken who lost loved ones or is still suffering from post-traumatic stress following Sept. 11, without regard to race or religion.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a form of anxiety disorder that is triggered by memories of a traumatic event. “So many people have been affected,” said Lisa Kahn, the clinical social worker who will be working at the new office. “While the bulk of the counseling will deal with those who lost loved ones, there’re a lot of other people in the area that are still suffering. There’s been so much media exposure of about the victim’s families and the heroic firefighters, all of which is deserved, but you don’t tend to hear others that are just trying to get their lives back on track.”
Another Hudson County Jewish organization that received funding from the UJC Emergency Relief Fund and other 9-11-related grants is the Jewish Vocational Services of Metro West. That organization will be offering job search workshops and job placement assistance to the Hoboken community through the new Hoboken office starting in late March.
Other services that JFCS provides in addition to counseling services in Hoboken, Jersey City and Bayonne include group discussions for assertiveness training, for widows and widowers, and for single families. They also offer in-home services for the elderly, running programs such as Meals-on-Wheels, in-home companionship, referrals for home care, and care for Holocaust survivors. Other services include emergency food and short-term shelter for the homeless.
Although the office in Hoboken is not yet open, JFCS is currently offering Hoboken residents counseling at its Bayonne office. To schedule an appointment or for more information about all the services listed above, Hoboken residents may call (201) 436-1299 ext. 11.
Once the office is up and running within the next two weeks, residents can call (201) 222-9060.