Eight years ago after I had just started in my job at The Jewish Federation, I received a very alarming phone call. A rabbi on the Westside called to say, “We have a problem. Over the past year, we have received over 140 calls from people in real need. Most of them did not know where to turn, so they called us.” I wondered how big this problem was, so I reached out to several other rabbis across the city. Every rabbi was having the same experience: thousands in our community were struggling as they were trying to recover from the dramatic economic downturn in 2008. People were in real distress and they turned to rabbis and synagogues for help.
Our Federation is committed to identifying and addressing our community’s biggest challenges.
To meet the most critical need, we reached out to our partner, Jewish Family Service, and together, we created the Ezra Network — providing timely and crucial help to the most needy and vulnerable in our community.
Today, this powerful partnership continues between The Jewish Federation, Jewish Family Service, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, JVS SoCAL, and many of our synagogues.
Together, we have rescued thousands in our community from the throes of poverty and gotten them back on their feet. Together we are keeping our neighbors and community members in their homes and apartments and making sure food is on their families’ tables.
We created a resource guide full of even more services for those among us in need. Essentially, it’s a listing of many ways to get help when you need it. It covers every stage, every need, and everyone. Please feel free to share it.
We couldn’t do this life-saving and life-changing work without you.
Thank you on behalf of the most vulnerable among us.
Shabbat Shalom,
Jay Sanderson
President & CEO
