Jewish Social Service Agency (JSSA)

A nonsectarian provider helping children, adults and seniors meet emotional, social and physical challenges for over 100 years; offering counseling, vocational, educational, in-home support, home healthcare, hospice and social services.

Why do we exist?

Families come to JSSA for help in meeting life's challenges, both unexpected and expected. A child is having trouble coping with his parents' divorce -- or with attention deficits that make behavior at school a tremendous problem. A teen has fallen in with a "bad" crowd -- or is seriously depressed and mentioning suicide. A mother feels caught between her responsibilities to her family and her elderly mother's need for care.

They turn to us in times of greatest need. When a loved one is critically or chronically ill, and needs home health or hospice care. (You may have seen the Washington Post articles about Rebecca Lilly, the 16-year-old who died of a brain tumor. JSSA provided her hospice care.) When a father of three loses his job, placing the entire family at great risk. When new parents' joy is suddenly overcome by their newborn's serious disabilities. Whenever life's burdens are too heavy to bear alone. JSSA's mission is to support families and individuals in need as a result of emotional, social or physical challenges.

We provide the highest quality counseling, home care, vocational and social services to children, teens, adults and elders throughout the Washington area, regardless of their ability to pay. We provide these non-sectarian services in the context of traditional Jewish concern for the dignity and uniqueness of each human life. We strive to strengthen individual, family and community life. And we provide the same high quality of care to families of all income levels.

What have you accomplished?

We have provided care and educational programs for more than 10,000 individuals a year from our five offices in D.C., Rockville, Annandale, Herndon and Gaithersburg. Here are a few of their stories:

Evelyn is 76, with a neurological condition that affects her ability to move. Alone in her apartment, she struggled to bathe, dress and feed herself, and she dreaded the thought of a nursing home.

JSSA has helped allay Evelyn's fears. A JSSA home health aide visits several times a week to help her bathe, fix meals, and take short walks in nice weather. Two JSSA volunteers -- high school students -- go shopping for Evelyn's groceries every week. A special JSSA transportation program sends a driver to escort Evelyn to her medical appointments. Should Evelyn's condition worsen, JSSA can add services: meals-on-wheels, skilled home nursing care, a volunteer Outreach Visitor to check in on her every week.

Diana was an 8-year-old with a brain tumor. For three years, she underwent treatment -- some experimental, some radical, all with horrendous side effects -- to try to stop the spread of the malignancy. Diana's parents had to make a agonizing decision. Do you try one last, invasive long-shot treatment that might prolong her life, or do you let nature take its course? When Diana's parents brought her home for what they knew would be the last time, JSSA's children's hospice was waiting.

JSSA's hospice team provides the support so critical to families caring for a terminally ill loved one. They taught Diana's parents to administer pain medication, and offered guidance on talking to Diana and their other children about death. They stayed with Diana so her parents could take a walk around the block. They carpooled the other children to their activities. They came daily -- and in the middle of the night when it was necessary. When Diana died, it was in her own bed in her own home, surrounded by those she loved and who loved her.

When Miriam's husband lost his job, he fortunately found another -- but for a little more than half his former salary. Miriam knew she had to go back to work, but after 12 years of raising children, she didn't know where to begin. JSSA's Jewish Vocational Services helped Miriam, and dozens of other women who are entering or re-entering the workforce because, like Miriam, they need to supplement the family income or because they are now single parents responsible for their children.

Tommy is a terror. he can't sit still, listen, follow instructions or stay quiet in school. His second grade teacher suspects a learning or attention disorder. And while public school systems assess children for learning disabilities, they cannot test for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) because it is a medical condition. Tommy's mother, divorced since he was a baby, can't afford the comprehensive and expensive diagnostic process. JSSA will make sure Tommy is evaluated thoroughly and treated appropriately.

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