Career Counseling

Over the last year, an unsteady economy and record job losses have been responsible for a staggering number of new clients from all income levels coming into the Career Counseling Program. The Career Services Program at Jewish Family Services helps people cope with joblessness, learn networking, resume writing, interviewing techniques, develop long term career plans and enhance their overall job-seeking skills. Career counselors work on an individualized basis with clients to determine their specific needs and then develop an action plan. JFS also provides support in a group setting through a monthly Job Seeker Support Group and through workshops and seminars.  For more information, call JFS at 704-364-6594.

Therapy Services

JFS provides individual, family, group and marital and couples therapy services by professional, licensed staff. Behavior issues affect everyone regardless of one’s circumstances or position. Different issues may bring clients to JFS for therapy including depression, anxiety, communication issues, domestic violence, chronic illness and adjustment to life transitions. Among such transitions are divorce, becoming a new parent, losing a loved one, remarriage, intermarriage, caring for an aged parent or unemployment. Our therapists utilize different approaches and modalities tailored to an individual’s need. For those too young to verbalize, therapists employ non-verbal techniques such as play therapy. For more information, call JFS at 704-364-6594.

Job Seeker Support Group

Jewish Family Services, in collaboration with Temple Israel, sponsors a monthly Job Support Group.  This group serves many purposes, including networking, emotional support, and education about searching for a job.  It is co facilitated by a human resources professional and a career counselor.  The group meets every third Thursday of the month, and often features guest speakers from the community.  The group spend some time and networking, and then they sit together to discuss what progress they have made in their job search, and any new leads they have developed.  This gives the group the opportunity to help each other with leads as well, since they may know of an available position in another field.  After that, there will often be a guest speaker who talks about current issues in the employment field, or a specific aspect of the job search process.  For more information, call JFS at 704-364-6594.

Jewish Community Business Circle

The JCBC was organized in 2004 as a way to bring Jewish business and professional leaders together for advise and mutual support. The group meets the third Tuesday of each month with a guest speaker discussing a topic of interest to our business community. Meetings are held at 6:30 in Luski Hall, which is room 207 of the Bernstein Education Building in Shalom Park. Attendance is free. For more information, contact co-presidents Justin Lowenberger at 704-534-1105 or e-mail justinlowenberger@mydrted.com or Don Rosenberg at 704-364-1784 at donrosenberg@gmail.com.

Financial Assistance

Financial distress can cut across all socioeconomic levels and ages. The downturn in the economy and the subsequent anticipated increase in unemployment will force more families and individuals to seek assistance.  Even in “good years” there exist those who need emergency financial assistance.  The fact is that this can happen to anyone, at any time. In 1993, the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte decided to allocate monies annually to a community-wide Tzedakah Fund to be administered by Jewish Family Services.  It is the intent of the Fund to assist individuals and families residing in the Charlotte Jewish community who require emergency financial assistance. This fund is not to be used for ongoing support and is to be supplemented with other resources in the broader Charlotte and Jewish Community. All monies given to recipients are to be considered a loan with the exception of food coupons. The JFS Case Manager, Nicole Vagnone, meets with each individual and/or family to assess needs and come up with long-term financial solutions.  For more information, call JFS at 704-364-6594.

JFS Online Job Board

Provides a quick & easy way for employers to post jobs & for job seekers to apply for positions www.jfscharlotte.org/jobs/add

Back2Work

Seeks to place unemployed, qualified workers into unpaid internships. It’s simple to post your internship opportunity. Just visit www.jfscharlotte.org/jobs/add

More information about Jewish Family Services is available here.