JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSN. - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSN. was established in 1875 as the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society which, after a merger in 1883 with the Hebrew Relief Organization, became the Hebrew Relief Assn. It is the principal family-counseling and social-work service agency for Cleveland Jews. Created to provide monetary and material relief to needy families and individuals, the society remained small during the 19th century, never collecting more than $6,000 annually. The Russian Relief Committee, established in 1882 to assist the large number of Russian Jews settling in Cleveland, merged with the Hebrew Relief Society in 1894. After joining the Federation of Jewish Charities in 1904, the society dispensed more than $10,000 annually. It hired A. S. Newman of Chicago as its first professional superintendent in 1904. He established the rudiments of casework in 1906, interviewing and investigating prospective clients and implementing "friendly visits" by volunteers to recipients. In 1924 the society changed its name to the Jewish Social Service Bureau and later in the decade affiliated with Western Reserve Univ.'s School of Applied Social Science in the training of social workers.

In 1933 the bureau turned the dispensing of relief over to governmental agencies and expanded into homemaker services, refugee resettlement, and vocational guidance, creating the Vocational Adjustment Department (later the Jewish Vocational Service). In 1943 the name changed to the Jewish Family Service Assn. Over the ensuing decades, the association began to offer services such as individual, family, and group counseling, support groups, education, outreach, and referral. In Jan 1955 the office was moved to 2060 S. Taylor Rd. in CLEVELAND HEIGHTS In the 1960s, the JFSA established the Rap/Art Center for Teens. In 1991 the agency opened the Drost Family Center in BEACHWOOD. In 1995 JFSA had 4 offices on Cleveland's east side; 8 group homes and apartments, and also offered services for the elderly, divorce mediation, refugee resettlement, and other social service initiatives. Dr. Arthur Becker-Weidman served as director.

Jewish Family Service Assn. Records, WRHS.

See also JEWS & JUDAISM.

Finding aid for the Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland Records, Series II. WRHS.

Related Article(s)

• REFORM, CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY
• RELIGION

Related Link(s)

• Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland - About JFSA