Alpert JFS News

Answer the Call to be Counted in Census 2020 – Your Participation Matters to Our Community’s Future!

2020 is the year of the Census. The U.S. has counted its population every ten years since 1790. Census results help determine how billions of dollars in federal funding flow into states and communities each year, including the need for additional social services. We strongly encourage everyone to respond to the Census as soon as it arrives. We can’t stress its importance enough; the results are the key to our community having the funds necessary to address the needs of […] https://www.alpertjfs.org/2020census/

Living Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Written by Elaine Rotenberg, Ph.D., Clinical Director at Alpert Jewish Family Service There is no question that COVID-19 has taken center stage in our world.  It has become the focus of most conversations, many TV specials, and the precipitant to ending most professional sporting events and entertainment for the time being.  Because we live in the world of 24-hour news outlets, we have had an accelerated course in learning new concepts:  “social distancing,” “flattening the curve,” and on and on.  […] https://www.alpertjfs.org/clinicalmessage-covid19/

Holocaust Survivor Recalls Painful Memories to Make a Difference in Students’ Lives

Alpert JFS’ client, Marie, an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor, recently met with a group of students and teachers at The Greene School in West Palm Beach to provide an experiential learning program, complete with a presentation of family photos taken before she was deported from her native Brussels, Belgium to France. There, she was put in a concentration camp, saved from imprisonment by the French Underground, and hidden in both a nunnery and farmhouse. After the war, Marie emigrated to the […] https://www.alpertjfs.org/holocaust-survivor-recalls-painful-memories-to-make-a-difference-in-students-lives/

Purim: The Holiday of Masks – Am I Wearing One?

This article was contributed by: Olivia Tartakow, LCSW, M.ED, Director of Community Directions at Alpert Jewish Family Service  Masks are a key symbol of Purim. However, we all wear masks at various times throughout the year. We have different roles, and the roles we play may determine what kind of mask we wear at different times. It’s part of being flexible and knowing when a mask is appropriate, and which mask fits the situation. Healthy behavior is when we’re conscious […] https://www.alpertjfs.org/purim-the-holiday-of-masks-am-i-wearing-one/

What is Gaslighting?

  This article was written by Sara Walsh, LCSW, Director of Alpert JFS Domestic Abuse Program   It seems like we can’t look at our Facebook newsfeed or watch the “Today Show” these days without learning about gaslighting; the new buzzword for emotional abuse. Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse, in which a person – to gain power and control – makes someone question their reality, judgment, and sanity. The term was inspired by the 1944 film, “Gaslight, starring […] https://www.alpertjfs.org/gaslighting/