Jewish Family Service of the Desert (JFS) has provided an array of counseling and social services to Coachella Valley residents since 1982. Core services include:
1. Low- to no-cost, in-person, and telecare mental health counseling. In line with our commitment to accessibility, we offer counseling in English and Spanish, with interpretation services available as needed. For those without insurance who have a sustaining income, a sliding scale is offered. For those without insurance or a sustaining income, scholarships are offered, ensuring all those who want to engage with a JFS therapist are able to do so, regardless of their ability to pay.
2. No-cost case management services that assist with connecting to available benefits such as Calfresh, LIHEAP, and others are available. Additionally, JFS offers needs-based emergency financial assistance for necessities such as overdue rent and utilities, food, and medication, and we are currently the ONLY agency in the area doing so.
3. Let's Do Lunch! (LDL) is a live, regularly scheduled senior education and socialization program that takes place in six locations throughout the Coachella Valley, and we're actively seeking the means to increase the number of locations due to the program's many benefits. These free events offer education, a modest meal, cognitive exercises, and quarterly administrations of mood scales that assess participants' mental health. The ultimate goal is to help seniors remain independent and age in dignity.
4. Cafe Europa is a monthly education and socialization program similar to LDL offered exclusively to our local Holocaust survivors. Additionally, JFS provides Cafe Europa members financial support for survivors' rent, utilities, dental, and in-home support services.
5. Cafe Europa 2.0 offers local children of Holocaust survivors a forum to interact and engage, while also allowing JFS staff a chance to assess additional needs this group may have.
6. In partnership with FIND Food Bank, JFS offers a monthly food distribution program for current JFS clients that is supported by several volunteers who offload food items from the FIND delivery truck, load items into their own vehicles, and drive to several distribution locations.
7. Weekly "wellness-check" phone calls to isolated seniors that assess physical and mental health, offer connections to needed services, and provide clients with a chance to interact with others are an important program that began in the wake of the COVID pandemic that forced the suspension of many in-person services.
8. Needs-based camp scholarships for local youth to attend a wide variety of camps (e.g., leadership, sports, math, science, etc.) are offered year-round.
9. "JFS Express," a volunteer-based transportation service for medical appointments, is offered to any local senior, 60 years of age or greater, who has registered for the program.
JFS is guided by a mission to provide for the social service needs of the Jewish and general community throughout the greater Coachella Valley with a commitment to promote the well-being of people of all ages, incomes, and lifestyles. Its services are available to all without discrimination in English and Spanish, and more than 93% of those served are from backgrounds other than Judaism.