SJFS Services & Programs

group, therapy, counseling

A brief description of our services and creative programs for older adults who live independently or in a supportive residence, their families, care providers, senior care professionals and students, and our Continuum of Care Community.

SYRACUSE JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE AT MENORAH PARK

BUILDING WELL-BEING,

REFRAMING AGING,

CREATING COMMUNITY.

AgeWise Care Solutions assists individuals and families cope with the changes and challenges of aging. Our Aging Life Care Professionals™ help with assessment and referral, care planning, service access and coordination, crisis management, and ongoing follow-up, family liaison and dynamics, financial affairs, bills and paperwork, basic errand services, and transportation. Fees are on a sliding scale thanks to support from the United Way and other funders. Ext. 234

A Ride & More provides grocery shopping, basic errand services, and transportation (with or without a patient advocate) to local medical appointments. Ext. 256

EISEP (Expanded in-Home Service for the Elderly Program) provides non-medical care management to help seniors retain their independence and live in their own homes. Care managers coordinate personal care, light housekeeping, and ancillary services. Ext. 229

Kosher Meals on Wheels provides affordable, nutritious meals and regular social contact to seniors who are unable to shop and prepare their own meals. SJFS is the only local provider of home-delivered Kosher meals. The KMOW coordinator performs regular in-home assessments and provides information and linkage to the SJFS continuum of care management and the County social safety net. Ext. 256

Ask us about

  • Activity Companions
  • AgeWise Planning
  • AgeWise Dementia Consultation and Coaching

Therapy and Counseling Services are available for children, families, couples, individuals and groups. Services are provided on a sliding-scale fee schedule and third-party insurances, including Medicare, are accepted. Ext. 234

CNY PEARLS: Program to Encourage Active Rewarding Lives is an evidence-based in-home counseling program to screen and assist adults over 60 with symptoms of depression, empowering them to reach higher quality of life. Free to Onondaga County residents. Ext. 234

M-Power U: A Learning Community for Early Memory Loss (MPU): a weekly 4-hour session with SJFS’s brain health and creative art therapy professionals, at Menorah Park, to learn practical skills to help with early memory loss in a friendly and supportive setting with a group of 10 – 16 peers. Ext. 225

Brain Power Community highlights our holistic approach to memory care through memory and cognitive training, coping strategies, lifestyle skills, physical exercise, and educational presentations, as well as periodic trips to local cultural venues.

Mondays from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM.

Pre-screening required

The Arts and Minds Community emphasizes creative self-expression, skill building, memory enhancement, emotional processing and communication through the arts. Participants engage in creative writing, painting, music, movement, and more, in a peer group setting. 

Fridays 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Pre-screening required

M-Power U Parkinson’s Community is Now Enrolling! The new MPU Parkinson’s will serve the needs of people affected by Parkinson’s who are experiencing or concerned about cognitive changes and early memory loss. MPU-P empowers them to take charge of their physical, emotional, and cognitive health, to mitigate the impact of early cognitive changes and improve their overall wellness.

Tentatively – Tuesdays from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Pre-screening required

Mind Aerobics™ is a fun, research-based, award-winning suite of programs designed to provide comprehensive mental workouts across six cognitive domains and maximize mental functioning. Participants screen into 1 of 4 levels and remotely attend 24 group sessions over 12 weeks. Call for screening and scheduling opportunities. Ext. 225

Be-Well Institute (Behavioral and Emotional Wellness Empowers Later Life) offers regular psycho-educational opportunities on and off campus. A variety of individualized programs, events, classes and workshops are available to fit the learning needs of seniors, families and informal caregivers, as well as aging services professionals and students. Try out Zen and the Art of Caregiving; Zen and the Art of Graceful Aging; Lifelong Brain Health; Views on Aging: Through the Movie Lens; “Old People in Training”; A Wisdom Circle; Life’s Journeys: Coping with Transitions; and more! Ext. 234

Planning to Flourish Workshops: SJFS instructors are available for individual or group session in the workplace, service organization, or other setting, about the complex journey of aging. Some discussion topics include when it’s time to take away the car keys (and how to do it), convincing a parent to accept help; signing up for Medicare and Medicaid; finding and paying for in-home help; and considering and implementing a change in residential status. Let our experts start the conversation and provide direction for next steps. Ext. 234

The Tachlis of Inclusion Program reaches out to Jewish clients with special needs, bringing Jewish holiday and cultural experiences to them as well as training in cultural competency to residence staff and other service providers. We offer regular educational and service opportunities for older adults and clients with disabilities. Ext. 234

As the human services arm of the Jewish community, Syracuse Jewish Family Service (SJFS) is dedicated to holistic, preventive, wellness-oriented integration of social and human series, offered without regard to race or creed, to all residents of Central New York. SJFS helps individuals and families in the Jewish and general communities maximize their self-determination, realize their potential and live with dignity. SJFS is guided by the Jewish values of community, family, respect and autonomy, and promotes these values through programs that preserve and strengthen individual and family well-being.

If it has to do with aging, we do it – or we’ll help get you to whomever does! SJFS is the area’s go-to agency for broad expertise on issues of aging, which we define as “a developmental process starting at birth.” Our team of caring professionals serves children, adults, older adults, people with developmental disabilities, families, groups, other professionals, and the community at large with our services, coordination of care, education and training.

Our clinical and case management team, backed up by the long-term and home-based nursing and housing capacities of Menorah Park, provides holistic, integrated human services featuring counseling and mental health services, care management, brain health programs, advocacy, volunteering, outreach and education for the Jewish and general public, aging services and health care professionals. SJFS also offers clinical internships, research and field work opportunities through accredited local programs.

SFJS receives support from:

SJFS is a member of:

INDEPENDENT LIVING

THE OAKS – Independent retirement living

AHAVATH ACHIM APARTMENTS – Affordable independent apartments

SYRACUSE JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE

For those who live independently or in a supportive environment, SJFS provides therapeutic services, counseling, care management, education, individual and family support

SUPPORTED LIVING

MENORAH PARK LICENSED HOME CARE AGENCY – For those who need some in-home care and companion services to live independently

BEIT TIKVAH – Community residence for developmentally disabled young adults

ROTHSCHILD ADULT DAY SERVICES – Medical model adult day care program for those who live independently or in a supportive environment

THE INN at MENORAH PARK – Assisted Living Residence provides a supportive community for those with physical and/or mental health needs

SKILLED NURSING CARE

JEWISH HEALTH AND REHABILITATION CENTER – Full service skilled nursing facility and short-term rehabilitation services, well-known for decades in the CNY community as The Jewish Home

THE TERRACE – Memory Unit within the skilled nursing facility for those with moderate to severe dementia from all causes, including Hospice care

SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY

JUDAIC HERITAGE CENTER – Preserving the history of the Jewish culture in our Region

IMPARA: INSTITUTE AT MENORAH PARK FOR APPLIED RESEARCH ON AGING – Established to promote the study of aging, in partnership with other institutions, agencies, and health and spiritual care providers