Mission and Vision
Our Mission & Vision
Mission
As the human services arm of the Jewish community, SJFS is dedicated to holistic, preventive, wellness-oriented integration of social and human services offered without regard to race or creed to all residents of Central New York.
Syracuse Jewish Family Service (SJFS) is a not-for-profit human service agency that is dedicated to helping individuals and families in the Jewish and general communities of Central New York maximize their self-determination, realize their potential and live with dignity. Since its incorporation in 1939, SJFS has been guided by the Jewish values of family, community, diversity, respect and autonomy. The agency promotes these values by identifying community needs, establishing priorities and implementing programs that seek to preserve and strengthen individual and family well-being.
With emphasis on issues relating to aging, SJFS provides human services on site and in community-based locations which include counseling and psychotherapy, CNY PEARLS, Kosher Meals on Wheels, client advocacy, psychosocial education, geriatric care management, financial case management and assistance with personal finances, transportation and errand services, volunteer coordination, the BeWell Initiative: Behavioral and Emotional Wellness Empowers Later Life, the Tachlis of Inclusion and other exceptional needs programming. SJFS is supported by the United Way, the Jewish Federation of CNY, the Onondaga County Department for Long Term Care, and many others.
Dedicated to preparing the workforce of compassionate, knowledgeable professionals of the future, SJFS also offers clinical internships and research and field work opportunities through accredited local programs.
Vision
We envision a community in which older adults, with and without cognitive impairment, and their care partners and support networks
• Maintain physical, cultural, social, spiritual, and vocational well-being at the highest possible level of independence;
• Enjoy emotional well-being, quality of life, and the highest possible cognitive functioning;
• Can live at home safely and/or make safe transitions into an appropriate level of care;
• Are free from depression and have the skills and supports to achieve their goals;
• Have a sense of positive well-being;
• Are socially resilient, and have the capacity and opportunity to foster, engage in, and sustain social relationships and the capacity to endure and recover from stressors and social isolation.