Our experienced social worker offers case management and information and referral services to help clients with a wide variety of needs including:

 

 

If you are struggling with one of these or other issues, the clinical social worker for the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, in collaboration with Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, can guide you in working toward the best possible outcome. Our social worker has a Master’s degree in social work (MSW) and is licensed as an independent clinical social worker (LICSW).

 

For those with physical, social or financial needs, the Federation social worker also offers assistance, including outreach to the homebound, to help individuals and families make connections with agencies and resources in the community.

 

The following is a small sampling of community members served through this program:

 

Joe recently lost two of his close friends.  He was grieving and feeling alone.  The social worker met with him for a few months in his bereavement and eventually helped him to re-establish connections to people and the community.  Although he misses his friends, Joe has started to move on with his life.

 

Anna is 88 and lives alone.  When she started falling her children feared that she was not safe at home.  After a work-up by her physician, the Federation social worker assessed the situation in Anna’s home, her ability to care for herself and her apartment, her mobility outside the home, and her support system.  The social worker now makes supportive visits to Anna, speaks periodically with her family, and connects Anna with community agencies that target her needs.

 

Max lost his wife of 42 years. He met with Federation’s social worker for a few months as he grieved this loss. She worked with him to get re-involved in activities he enjoyed and to increase his socialization. About a year later, when his health started to decline, he could no longer drive and needed help with bathing and cooking.  The Federation’s social worker arranged for him to receive the Federation’s home-delivered meals and referred him to an outside agency that provided an aide who could help with cleaning his apartment and bathing.  She made him aware of transportation options for the elderly, such as the Federation’s taxi coupons, and other services. In the final months of Max’s life, living with a terminal illness, he continued to receive visits from the Federation’s social worker.  She had been able to step in at crucial points in Max’s life and support him through life’s difficult transitions.