Center for Jewish Care - JFSSD
Moving Forward Together
Center for Jewish Care logo, "Serving San Diego's Jewish Community", two older adults, a family of four smiling, a family of three smiling.

Welcome to the Center for Jewish Care at Jewish Family Service

We’re here for you. The Center for Jewish Care is a welcoming and compassionate space with dedicated staff, designed to help you access critical services for immediate needs. We’re here to help you move forward with dignity. At the heart of our approach is more than 100 years of unique cultural expertise and vital assistance to Jewish community members during their most challenging times.

A Home for Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) and community connection. The Center of Jewish Care is also a place to find volunteer opportunities, participate in community-wide engagement, and discover meaningful and authentic Jewish conversations.

Eligibility Requirements
The Center for Jewish Care assists members of the Jewish community who are residents of San Diego and age 18 and older. A Jewish community member is defined as one of the following:

  • An individual who self-identifies as Jewish
  • A member of a household where at least one individual identifies as Jewish
  • An employee of a local Jewish organization (synagogue, school, agency/nonprofit, etc)

If you are a member of the Jewish community and need support, we’re here for you.

Connect with our dedicated staff directly at (858) 637‑3018 or contact us online.

Learn more about our services below:

Jewish Community Services

We know asking for help can be difficult. Our Jewish Community Resource Navigators will work with you to address immediate needs and to create a plan to support your journey to move forward.

Supporting Our Survivors (SOS)

We provide comprehensive support services to help Holocaust Survivors maintain their health, independence, and connection to the community throughout San Diego and Orange County.

Jewish Community Engagement

We offer a variety of ways to engage the Jewish Community by connecting individuals and families to events and campaigns that give back to our community and foster dialog for future generations.

Volunteer Opportunities

The Center for Jewish Care is a place where our Jewish community convenes to live Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and put our shared Jewish values into action to do good.

BRUCHA HABAH — Welcoming Rabbi Susan Freeman

Rabbi Freeman brings over 30 years of experience working in a variety of settings from synagogues to hospitals. She has focused on healing and the use of spiritual care as a modality to help individuals find peace with life’s most difficult situations. She often embraces tools and adaptions from the field of integrative medicine including dance yoga and mindfulness to open pathways to healing. Rabbi Freeman joins JFS after most recently serving as a chaplain and Clinical Pastoral Educator for Sharp Healthcare in San Diego.

“As an agency guided by Jewish values, having a rabbinic resource on our team, and specifically within the Center for Jewish Care, will be valuable to our staff, volunteers and board as we explore the work we do through our uniquely Jewish lens,” said JFS CEO Michael Hopkins. “We are resolved to lift our values in our advocacy work, meet the pastoral needs of individuals served by the Center for Jewish Care and amplify our sacred teachings with a contemporary perspective within our team.”

Read Press Release >>

About The Center for Jewish Care

The Center for Jewish Care provides critical services to the Jewish community including the elderly, Holocaust Survivors, and Jewish individuals and families during their most challenging times. Each individual has a story. And in recognizing that, our approach honors the dignity of every unique person who turns to us.

We have the bold vision of eliminating Jewish poverty and strengthening our community. As part of this effort, the Center for Jewish Care and Jewish Family Service will continue to provide direct services, including food assistance and coaching; collaborate with other organizations to leverage resources; advocate for systems change; pursue government funding to uplift the Jewish community; and provide opportunities for the community to engage through volunteerism and dialogue. We are grateful to the many partnerships that will help us achieve this goal—it will take all of us.

Center for Jewish Care Task Force

Mitch Siegler, Chair Jerri-Ann Jacobs
Julie Bronstein Emily Jennewein
Theresa Dupuis Jenny Meiselman
Len Gregory Gabrielle Oratz
Marcia Hazan Marie Raftery
Iris Hirsch Tammy Vener

Contact Us

If you are a member of the Jewish community and need support, the Center for Jewish Care is here for you.

Connect with our Jewish Community Resource Navigators directly at (858) 637‑3018 or contact us online.

Join Us for the Center for Jewish Care Luncheon with Dr. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz on November 12 | 11am-2pm. Reserve your ticket today!