Receiving a $190,000 check from Rep. Rush Holt, second from right, are officials of the Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County and United Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, including, from left, Jill Jaclin, Emily Josephson, Jeri Schaefer, Norma Saks, Eve Coulson, Jennifer Macleod, Mark Merkovitz, and Linda Meisel.
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September 7, 2009
A $190,000 grant secured by Rep. Rush Holt (D-Dist. 12) will enable Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County to better service its senior population.
The funds were allocated to the JF&CS’ Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) programs, which provide services that enable seniors to remain in their own homes as they age.
Holt presented the funds, an earmark within the $410 billion federal 2009 Omnibus Spending Bill, to the social service agency on Aug. 6. Also attending were officials of United Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, which supports JF&CS.
“Many services, if provided, allow people to stay in their homes, where they are comfortable. This program does that, and it should be expanded to millions of Americans,” Holt told NJ Jewish News. “I’m pleased we could do this much for New Jerseyans.”
JF&CS NORC programs include Secure@Home, a comprehensive membership-based, nonsectarian program. Its services include assessment, a 24-hour emergency phone line, cultural and wellness programs, care management, transportation, information and referral, and support for family caregivers.
The grant will help JF&CS expand into the Ewing/Lawrence area, offering such services as van transportation for seniors to go on errands and geriatric assessments on a sliding fee scale.
The funds will also support the hiring of a part-time director for Community Without Walls, a peer-to-peer program founded by four Princeton residents in 1992. CWW has its own theater troupe exploring the aging process through drama.
“The whole notion of preventative care is really a big piece of this,” said Secure@Home director Jill Jaclin.
Proper preventative care, she said, helps seniors avoid the expense and burden of nursing homes or hospitalization.
“People do better” when they can stay in their homes, she said.
The funds will also enable JF&CS staff to do in-person, in-home — rather than telephone — assessments of the senior population.
The earmarks were approved by U.S. senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) before they were submitted as part of the 2009 Omnibus Federal Spending Bill.
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Jennifer Macleod
September 10, 2009
I was happy to comply when I was invited to be in the photo, published in the New Jersey Jewish News, when Rep. Rush Holt presented the $190,000 check. However, I am dismayed that the photo caption misidentified me as “an official of the Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County”—which I am not:I am just an enthusiastic and grateful member of its non-sectarian Secure@Home membership organization—nothing more. Thank you.