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Caring for our community

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As we head into the coldest time of year, we want to share with you how your gift to CJP helps us and our partners care for the community. CJP’s Anti-Poverty Initiative (API) helps ensure that more people in Greater Boston’s Jewish community are financially, physically, and emotionally secure — and able to meet or exceed their basic needs with dignity. Learn more about how your gift helps care for those in need this season.

CJP’s Anti-Poverty Initiative
 

Since its launch in 2015, API has provided critical help to 4,594 households — comprised of an estimated 8,000 people — within Greater Boston’s Jewish community. Last year alone, CJP and its five API partners — Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters, Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JF&CS), Jewish Family Service of Metrowest, Jewish Vocational Service, and Yad Chessed made a big impact:

2,000+ households received support through all API services. The median household income of API clients was $12,000.

$651,295
in total aid was given out to 543 households

944 households worked with an API case manager to receive more intensive case management

Nearly 60% of API clients in crisis show positive movement toward stability within nine months

Community members like Joseph and Maria are among those helped by API this year. Read on to learn how API — and your support — made a big impact in their lives.

Joseph and Maria are Holocaust survivors who came to Boston in 1989 from Ukraine with just a few suitcases and limited English. Now in their mid-80s, Joseph and Maria have been supported by several API partners over the years, including Yad Chessed and JF&CS. Currently, Joseph and Maria live on a limited Social Security income and receive government food benefits. They receive much-needed monthly Stop & Shop gift cards, as well as periodic Target cards from Yad Chessed to help them make ends meet. The couple works with Katya, a Russian-speaking social worker at Yad Chessed, who helps them navigate their benefits and assists them with securing the gift cards. “We have to pay out of pocket for some of my medicine — and for hygiene products — and everything is so expensive. We don’t know what we would do without Yad Chessed,” says Joseph. Maria adds, “And it’s great that they have Katya! My English is not that good, and it is so nice she can speak Russian and can understand me!"

Thank you for your gift to CJP and for helping to make our caring initiatives, like API, possible!