Jewish Social Service Agency (JSSA)

A nonsectarian provider helping children, adults, seniors and families meet emotional, social and physical challenges for more than 118 years; offering counseling and career management, career services, in-home support, hospice and social services.

Why do we exist?

Families come to JSSA for help in meeting life’s challenges, both expected and unexpected.

A child on the Autism Spectrum struggling daily in public.
A teen who is seriously depressed and mentioning suicide. 
A single mother caught between her responsibilities to her family and her elderly mother’s need for care.

These are just a few examples of the wide range of challenges our experienced social workers, psychologists and other professionals assist with every week.

When life’s burdens are too heavy to bear alone JSSA serves as the community’s safety net. For more than 118 years, JSSA has been helping people across the Washington metropolitan area meet emotional, social, and physical needs. A nonsectarian, non-profit community provider, JSSA serves people of all religious backgrounds, races, ethnicities – regardless of ability to pay.

People in Maryland, DC and Virginia turn to us when they need support the most.  For instance:

• When a father of three loses his job, placing the entire family at risk
• When parents struggle to cope with the diagnosis of their child with autism, Down’s Syndrome, deafness, learning issues or of other disabilities
• When a senior needs support services to continue to live independently
• When a Holocaust survivor needs help grappling with painful memories of the past
• When a child with ADHD needs to learn impulse control to succeed in school
• When a terminally ill patient wants to live the last weeks of life in the familiar surroundings of home, without pain, doing whatever is most personally meaningful
  

JSSA provides the highest quality counseling, home care, employment and career services and social services to children, teens, adults and Seniors. Our non-sectarian services are based on the Jewish values of charity, justice and responsibility to care for one’s neighbor. 

What have you accomplished?

JSSA served over 29,500 individuals and families in the past year. Your contribution will allow us to continue to touch the lives of individuals, couples and families.  Their words of thanks best capture what JSSA has accomplished.

JSSA Special Needs Programs:

“As family members of children with special needs, we would like to say thank you to JSSA for providing the Family Support Group for Children with Disabilities. Having special needs children isn’t always easy, and the group provides a place for us to connect with others dealing with similar struggles, get help in dealing with the issues involved in raising special needs children and find ways to cope as we deal with the myriad of things that special needs children require (e.g. frequent medical appointments and therapies). We will always be grateful to JSSA for understanding the importance of providing accessible/no cost support groups, especially as many of us struggle to pay for the therapies, special equipment, etc., that our special needs children require and that insurance doesn’t cover.”

JSSA Hospice Program:

“Your expertise and guidance, your candor and compassion, your gentleness and consideration supported us during one of the worst times of our lives. Most of all, thank you for your kindnesses to us. You are all amazing. Please never doubt your value to those of us you sustain; never question the significant impact you make in the lives of the families you serve; never underestimate the magnitude of the work that you do on a daily basis.  We never will!"

Employment and Career Services:

“I would like to take a moment and thank you for all the assistance that you have provided me in my job search. I recently received a job offer with the federal government. I found that your Boot Camp, Monday network meetings, resume writing class, etc., gave me the tools necessary to prepare for the challenge of securing a job. I had been seven months out of a job, overwhelmed and discouraged with my job search when I received your boot camp email.

At first, I was hesitant to sign up, but I’m glad I did, and I now have a job to show for it. Without JSSA's helping hands, my situation would have been far more dire, and I don't know how I would have coped and overcome many hurdles which face so many today.” 

Usage of JSSA Services in the Past Year

• Mental health evaluation and treatment– over 9,300 children, teens and families
• Special Needs Support Services – 1,554 individuals, families and professionals
• Career counseling and employment services – 1,250 individuals and families
• Services and support to help seniors remain independent in their homes – over 8,738 seniors
• Hospice care – 1,495 patients and their family members
• Chaplaincy services in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and prisons - 2,700 individuals and families
• Financial assistance grants – 583 individuals and families in crisis
  

	How do you help people in my community?		Why do you need my support?
	How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?		Can I Volunteer? How?