Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF)

The Federation's largest endeavor is to allocate funds to a network of nearly 100 agencies and initiatives in the Chicago area that aid 500,000 Chicagoans of all faiths, including: hot meals and groceries, utility and rent assistance, prescriptions and medical care for impoverished families; job training and placement for people who are out of work; therapeutic school and specialized services for people with disabilities; support services for Holocaust survivors; assisted living, specialized services for seniors; respite services for caregivers of frail seniors and people with disabilities; counseling, prevention and intervention services for troubled teens; an entire continuum of prevention and therapeutic services for individuals and families in crisis; and security assistance to safeguard Jewish facilities.Because the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago are closely linked in numerous ways (combined Board of Directors, shared professional and shared office space), and because JUF provides an annual, multi-million dollar allocation to the Jewish Federation, we measure and report our program and service results jointly for the combined JUF/Federation enterprise, which are summarized below:MENTAL HEALTHProlonged isolation, uncertainty and financial stress have taken a toll on mental health across our community. Last year, JUF deployed an additional $2.2 million to ramp up mental health programs for people who were in crisis, struggling with anxiety, depression and addiction. In FY22, thousands more needed help. According to the most recent Chicago Jewish Population Study, mental health care is the greatest single health service need in our local community, with 1 in 4 local Jewish households requiring mental health assistance. The need is particularly stark among people ages 22-39, with nearly half (45%) of young couples and 1 in 3 (36%) young singles requiring mental health care. At the beginning of the fiscal year, there were 200 people on the waitlist for JCFS counseling services and there was a two-month wait for a counseling appointment at CJE SeniorLife.With JUF's support, our agencies stepped up to meet this growing need: - 36,000 people got mental health support from JUF agencies across the community in 2021 - a 65% increase over 2020. - JCFS Chicago doubled respite services for families of people with disabilities.- 5,800 professionals throughout the community got training to ensure they could offer appropriate resources and referrals to meet community members' mental health needs.- 800 JCC staff, Jewish preschool and day school teachers got coaching to better serve children's mental health needs - and to assist with their own self-care.- Historically, in a typical year, JCC would provide mental health supports to 15% of its campers; in summer 2021, half of its campers required this assistance. With JUF's support, Jewish institutions have added mental health facets to their programming:- Hundreds of young adults got support at one of Chicago's four Base centers - including individualized care, referrals to additional resources and programming to foster emotional resilience through a Jewish lens - to complement connections to community. - Scores of young professionals benefited from additional mental health and employment support through a joint initiative of JUF's Young Leadership Division and JCFS Chicago.- Hundreds of adults of all ages participated in weekly mindfulness programs with OROT.SECURITYLive Secure Chicago was launched in FY 21-22 to extend JUF's security support across our entire community, with the goal of ensuring that no Jewish institution's security choices are compromised by limited resources - and that every member of our community can safely and proudly participate in Jewish life.- To date, 100 Jewish groups have been assisted by JUF in procuring government funds to strengthen their security, including $20 million in federal and $6 million in state security grants. Our goal is to expand JUF's grant writing capacity to fully serve upwards of 300 Jewish organizations, enabling them to apply for - and win - more federal and state grants.- 88 Chicagoland Jewish groups have received $1.6 million in JUF matching grants in the last three years, which leveraged an additional $2.3 million in matching funds, resulting in nearly $4 million of new or improved physical security protecting 37,000 people. Our goal is to establish annual rounds of security grants to extend protection to all local Jewish schools, synagogues, camps and other institutions, ensuring that each facility can rely upon predictable funding cycles to update security plans - and the equipment to back them up. - JUF estimates that our community now spends $5 million annually on security at facilities and events. Our goal is to raise nearly $1 million more annually to extend protection to all local Jewish institutions. - JUF has conducted 250 security audits of local Jewish institutions to date and facilitated over 50 institutional security plans to help protect community members of all ages. Our goal is for every Jewish facility and program in the Chicago metropolitan area to have access to JUF's security expertise and technical assistance to ensure their safety. - In partnership with law enforcement agencies, to date JUF has hosted 20+ community security seminars and dozens of scenario trainings for organizational leaders. Our goal is to offer these seminars and training sessions to more organizations and more people, including staff, faculty and volunteers.- JUF has relationships with 24 federal, state, county, and local law enforcement agencies to ensure our community's access to top officials, security information and resources. Those relationships - and the expertise of those officers - are strengthened via JUF-sponsored Security Seminars in Israel. As part of expanded security operations, our goal is to hold these seminars more frequently. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN JEWISH LIFEIn 2021, JUF connected young families to Jewish identity and community:- 11,000 local children get free, monthly Jewish books through PJ Library & PJ Our Way. - 8,000 young families participated in programs and events through JUF and its agencies last year - 1 in 5 of them for the first time.- JUF and its agencies hosted 300 events for young families throughout the year.Dynamic, JUF-supported programs engaged teens, college students & young adults in Jewish life:- 7,400 teens engaged Jewishly through programs run by JUF and JUF-supported agencies - an 87% increase over 2020. - 5,500 young adults engaged in programs provided by JUF and its agencies in 2021 - half of them for the first time. - 2,300 (36%) of all Jewish college students in Illinois participated in Hillel in 2021.- 1,500 college students attended 54 pre-Israel programs and events held on 16 college campuses across Illinois-1,200 youth received $1 million in scholarships and vouchers for Jewish summer camp.JUF continued to make Jewish education more affordable: - 4,300 individuals received $45.6 million in scholarships & tuition assistance in 2021 to help them afford Jewish preschool, day school, graduate and undergraduate programs.- 3,500 local Jewish Day School students - 76% of those enrolled - received scholarships and/or tuition assistance from JUF-supported day schools, which totaled $43.8 million in 2021.- 500+ preschoolers - 1 in 5 of those enrolled - received $1 million in scholarships and subsidies from JUF and JCC to help make their early childhood education possible. JUF continued to engage community members of all ages:- 48,000 community members attended outreach & education programs through JUF agencies in 2021, from support groups and workshops to genetic education and Jewish enrichment. - 22,000 adults attended 275 local Jewish programs provided by JUF and JCC Chicago.- 9,300 older adults participated in programming across JUF agencies.

Refugee Resettlement Services Program - The Jewish Federation administers comprehensive refugee social services on behalf of the State of Illinois. The Illinois Refugee Social Service Consortium is comprised of 10 direct service agencies committed to providing quality refugee social services including: Employment Assistance, Cultural Adjustment, Case management, K-12, Youth Mentoring, Services to Older Refugees (Seniors), Mental Health counseling, data collection, reporting via an online Salesforce database.

Hillels of Illinois - Federation supports a vast array of Jewish activities for students at colleges, universities and professional schools in Illinois. The Hillel program provides opportunities for Jewish students to explore and celebrate their Jewish identity at 16 different college campuses in Illinois, as well as through Hillel Regional programs. Hillel's vision is a world where every Jewish student is inspired to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel. Hillel seeks to enrich the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world. Hillel seeks to create a pluralistic, welcoming and inclusive environment for Jewish college students: an environment where students are encouraged to grow intellectually, spiritually and socially. Increasingly, Hillel must help Jewish students counter campaigns by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement to delegitimize and demonize Israel, and to address the concomitant increase in campus anti-Semitism.