“SBH Jersey Shore want to be a one-stop-shop for seniors and their families for recreational, educational, and health-related purposes.”
Frieda Schweky
The SBH Tawil Family Jersey Shore branch is thrilled to announce the addition of the Lorraine & Louis Shamie Senior Division. Group activities, informational events for both seniors and caretakers, as well as cultural and educational programs are just a few of the innovative programs the new Senior Division will be offering.
Sarah Azar Named Seniors Coordinator
Sarah Azar was recently named Seniors Coordinator at the Jersey Shore branch of SBH. Sarah began working at the mental health clinic in Brooklyn in 2013. She has since worked as a therapist in the clinic from 2014-2017.
After serving as a therapist, Sarah held various positions including child therapist, case manager, and social worker for seniors. Sarah holds a master’s degree in mental health counseling and has years of community-based experience. She is enthusiastic about her work and has a fresh outlook on how to expand and grow the Senior Division at the Jersey Shore branch.
“Sarah brings energy, enthusiasm, and clinical experience to the team here at the SBH Jersey Shore branch,” said Victoria Sutton, MPA, Director of Senior Division for Brooklyn and Jersey Shore SBH. “She always has new and creative ways to engage. We are so excited to have her on board at our Jersey Shore branch!”
Brooklyn and Jersey Shore Branches Partner in Serving Seniors
The SBH Senior Division is a vital part of community senior living, and the Jersey Branch is proud to offer referrals for the following: medical services, mental health services, food services, home health aide agencies, nursing homes, and rehabilitation facilities.
In the upcoming months, the goal is to have identical programming and services available at both branches of SBH, in the Jersey Shore and in Brooklyn. Already steps have been taken to make this a reality, and soon the programs should be identical to one another. One of the first steps taken to reach this goal is special programming. Many recent events for the Senior Divisions have taken place at the same time and date in both Brooklyn and the Jersey Shore branches.
SBH Honors Veterans
On Veterans Day, SBH teamed up with Hillel Yeshiva High School to honor nine community veterans. The event was a great success. Attendees included the veterans, community seniors, Hillel 9th and 10th graders as well as the families of the veterans. Some veterans had the opportunity to address the crowd of students and each of them received a certificate of appreciation. Isadore Shammah, who can be quoted on several occasions saying “Could you believe I never got a high school diploma…” was (finally) awarded a high school diploma on that special day.
Sunshine Girls
Sunshine Girls is a fairly new initiative that was launched in the spring of 2019 and relaunched after the summer. This invaluable program assures that the seniors in the Jersey Shore are visited at least once a week. About 60 community women are on rotation visiting about 20 seniors. The ratio of volunteers to seniors is high to assure that no senior goes for a week without a visit. If one volunteer can’t make it that week, another will fill in. The Jersey community has never had such a large and organized visiting program before, and this no doubt is aiding the Jersey seniors tremendously.
SBH Fills the Void
Some social programs that SBH Jersey Shore has to offer are Young at Heart and Arts and Leisure Club. Young at Heart takes place every Tuesday. Seniors come in to socialize, have lunch, and enjoy live entertainment. Short Story Book Club, a part of the Arts and Leisure Club, is held on Wednesdays. Each member comes in having already read the assigned short story at home, and when they come in they discuss the short story with a facilitator. About once a month the group takes a field trip. The group has ventured out to the Jewish Heritage Museum in Freehold, NJ, The Ocean Township Historical Museum, cake decorating with Alexis Cohen, and more! The experiences are always educational, cultural, and, best of all, enjoyable for all who attend.
Some other amazing programs at the SBH Jersey Shore branch are: Challah Delivery, which is an initiative whereby local high school students deliver challot to about 30 seniors each Friday, and also Shabbat meals are cooked and delivered by volunteers to elderly participants who can’t cook and/or don’t have close family nearby to host them for Shabbat. Another resource through SBH Jersey Shore is a medical gemach in which equipment is loaned out, such as wheelchairs, canes, crutches, bed rails, etc. This is a volunteer-run program, which happily accepts medical equipment donations. The newest initiative for seniors that SBH of the Jersey Shore has started is Lunch n’ Learn. This program is for community men aged 60 and up. They join Hillel High School students for a monthly class and lunch. Each class features a different community rabbi.
Some recent successful events at SBH Jersey Shore include: Medicare 2019: Get the Facts;
Fall Prevention: How to Stay Safe This Winter; and The Five Documents Your Parents Must Have.
“We are trying to create a lot of programming because we see such a profound need for these courses for both seniors and caregivers,” said new Senior Coordinator Sarah Azar. “SBH Jersey Shore want to be a one-stop-shop for seniors and their families for recreational, educational, and health-related purposes.”
For information on the mentioned programs and more please contact Sarah at (732) 531-1117 x114.