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A single-parent family struggling to make it out of poverty was completely destabilized by the COVID-19 crisis. Without a support network, the working single mother of a child enrolled in the Marks JCH Early Childhood Center was forced to quit her job and studies, and lose her only income when all NYC schools and programs were paused in mid-March. The family had counted on the Marks JCH not only for safe and nurturing childcare but for most of the meals the child ate. With no other means for support, the mother turned to the JCH for help. Our Single Parent Center Coordinator immediately assisted the family in applying for government benefits and providing a critical food voucher in the short term. Our Family Violence Protection professionals are working towards advocating for child support payments being reinstated during the staggering of the legal system in NYC. The family was connected and received technology equipment to ensure the child is able to join the daily virtual sessions connecting to peers and caring teachers. Most critically, a UJA-Federation cash relief fund supported the family in rent and utilities payments that will allow the mother time to plan ahead and ensure she is not months behind in bills sinking the family further into desperation and debt. Our team is in constant communication with the mother offering new resources, clarifying the rapid information released, and allowing the family to feel supported even while our doors remain closed.

Vladimir, a very bright boy with an extremely difficult background and a range of behavioral difficulties, came to the Robbins-Corenman After School Center in 1st grade. With a single mother working two jobs to support her family, Vladimir’s struggles with reading were affecting the rest of his studies.

At the JCH, he was given significant individual attention. He was enrolled in our mentoring and a Read-With-a-Kid programs, and our After School director personally checked Vladimir’s homework assignment each day.

We discovered that he was fascinated by our computer classes and was willing to do any amount of additional reading just to earn 15 more minutes in the computer lab. Vladimir not only improved his grades, but he became a computer “specialist” and began helping other children in the class.

Initially, there was a fear that Vladimir would be held back at school due to his poor reading ability. He ended up in the top fifth percentile in his class and became one of the most-accomplished children in our After School program. He has a future as bright as any, made possible by those who funded his development at the JCH.

At 89 years old, a survivor of the Bershad Ghetto and one of the most active members of the JCH Yiddish revival club is now facing extreme social isolation due to COVID-19.  She lost her husband decades before and now the use of her legs. As she explained, her legs have just given out on her and she requires an oxygen tank during the day.  Her only connection to the world outside now is her home care worker who is only there for a few hours of the day. She turned to the JCH and the professionals she has known for decades and through our cash relief funds we have been able to provide additional hours and night time coverage for her beloved and trusted home care worker and deliver a kosher Passover meal – holiday she loves most as it celebrates freedom – something she lost, and regained multiple times in her life.  Having experienced the horrors of concentration camps, labor camps, and deportation, our survivors still had the strength to emigrate to the U.S. to seek a better life, and the JCH continues to help achieve that.