TELL US ABOUT YOUR CLIENT BASE AND AREAS OF EXPERTISE:

One of my specialties is working with people of all ages who are struggling with issues related to grief. I am one of the founders of Peace by Piece, a free community based grief support program for children, teens, and their parents. This is a collaborative program with Edmarc. We are currently in our 21^st program year. I also specialize in working with children and have been one of the school counselors at Strelitz International Academy for 26 years. Our counseling staff is trauma informed and we promote mindfulness in our work with clients of all ages.

WHAT MAKES THE JFS SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM SO GREAT?

We are always looking at the whole person and what their needs are, not just counseling. We focus on their family and other support systems. We also pride ourselves at finding what we can do to help someone in need, rather than what we cannot do.

HOW HAS COVID-19 AFFECTED YOU, YOUR STAFF AND THE PATIENTS YOU SERVE? HOW IS JFS HANDLING NEW/ESTABLISHED PATIENT VISITS AT THIS TIME?

I can honestly say that every day has been a challenge for us since the coronavirus hit the United States. We are very focused on providing the material supports of food and financial assistance to those who qualify and who are in need. For example, we do an annual Passover Outreach and this year we will be giving out food and/or grocery gift cards to over 250 local Jewish families. For counseling, we have been creatively using virtual means to continue providing counseling without clients coming into the office. For our food pantry, we have revised our distribution to a “drive up” service.

WHAT ACTIVITIES DO YOU ENJOY WHEN YOU ARE NOT AT WORK?

My husband and I moved to Tidewater in 1982 and definitely consider this our home. We both love music and try to attend concerts and music festivals whenever we can.