At Jewish Family Services, physical, mental, nutritional and financial health is the goal

When someone comes to Jewish Family Service’s food pantry, the organization’s goal is to find out why they can’t feed themselves.

Perhaps the client needs to leave work to care for a sick family member. Maybe the salary is not up to date. Perhaps the medical expenses caused the financial crisis.

Jewish Family Services of Dallas, which has been serving North Texas for more than 75 years, opened its new facility in Addison to address that root problem. With a full medical clinic, behavioral health center, food pantry and financial coaching now under one roof, CEO Cathy Barker hopes to get people on a healthier path in just one visit.

“Most of our clients’ problems, whether they’re low-income or not, don’t happen in a vacuum,” Barker said in an interview.

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The new facility in Addison opened March 2 and aims to serve North Dallas and Collin County residents in particular.

“JFS is now able to serve more people and provide comprehensive health services that promote lifelong, physical, emotional, nutritional and financial well-being,” said Julie Gothard, board chairwoman of Jewish Family Services of Dallas, during Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The growing need for holistic care

Jewish Family Services of Dallas, commonly abbreviated as JFS, has provided food and mental health services for decades. Founded in 1950, it originally served the Jewish community following the horrific toll of the Holocaust. It has grown over the years to serve anyone in need.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, clients said they needed more medical care, Barker said in an interview. JFS opened a medical center in North Dallas near Richardson and has applied to be recognized as a Federally Qualified Health Center, a type of medical clinic that serves low-income and uninsured people.

The goal of FQHC, Barker explained, is to address chronic diseases in particular, such as diabetes, heart problems and obesity.

The North Dallas medical center will remain open, and the Addison facility now has a second medical clinic offering primary care for all ages, as well as maternal health care. After certain Affordable Care Act tax credits expired at the end of last year, Barker said JFS is seeing more uninsured patients.

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The medical clinic will work closely with the food pantry to identify special needs, nutritional or otherwise. The pantry itself is “client’s choice,” equipped with shopping carts and shelves.

“It’s like they’re going to the grocery store,” said Eli Cohn-Wein, pantry manager.

Individual and group financial coaching is available for clients to address financial issues, and JFS provides temporary monetary assistance for expenses such as medical bills and rent as well.

JFS serves about 22,000 clients a year, Barker said, with about half of that number being food pantry visitors. With the new facility, which is supported by a $40 million campaign, JFS hopes to reach more than 50,000 total clients a year by 2028.

Take care of the whole family

A large wing of the new location is completely dedicated to behavioral health, from therapy to community space.

In their behavioral health clinician staff, JFS has a diagnostician, speech therapist and cognitive behavioral therapists. There is counseling available for families and individuals, and support groups for a range of people, from caregivers to cancer patients. A senior center to meet the needs of the elderly.

For adults with mental illness, the new facility has a clubhouse with activities, a kitchen and community-building programs.

For children, there are various playrooms in the behavioral health wing, including a sensory gym equipped with adjustable lights, a ball pit and a rock climbing wall.

Rooted in faith, open to all

The center serves anyone, not just Jewish clients. There are some nods to Jewish heritage in the work however, including the kosher section of the food pantry and the kosher grocery home delivery service.

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Rabbi Mordechai Harris, chief impact officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas, affixed a mezuzah – a scroll of parchment featuring prayers written in a decorative casing – to the door of the facility during Thursday’s ceremony. Traditionally, the mezuzah is hung outside the home or private living room.

In his remarks to the crowd of more than 200 who attended the opening ceremony, Harris said the mezuzah is a reminder that caring for others is not a virtue, but a duty and a sacred mission.

“Every human being has that divine image,” he said. “And infinitely valuable.”