Jewish Family Services has helped more than 10,000 people facing life’s daily challenges made even more difficult by the pandemic. Those people include Leah Aviel, who uses a wheelchair and lives on a limited income.
Aviel wants to be independent. While she faces physical challenges, it is important for her to travel around her neighborhood, run errands and see family and friends. That was made difficult when Aviel’s motorized wheelchair was damaged in an accident. On her limited income, she wasn’t sure she could afford a new wheelchair, but JFS stepped in and helped with the co-payment.
“I can’t imagine Leah without her wheels,” said her JFS care manager, Liz Conaway Muensch. “This was a significant thing we could do for her. She is very grateful for the help she receives, and always gives great life advice or humorous anecdotes in return. She also helps anyone and everyone she can around her. She has a ripple effect of kindness.”
Aviel also receives support through JFS’s older adult care management services, which make sure she gets the medications she needs. She goes to the JFS food pantry to supplement what she can buy on her limited income. As a Help@Home client, she gets support from a community handyman to maintain her independent lifestyle safely. Aviel has also benefited from JFS Medicare counseling to get the most out of her coverage.
There are many others like Aviel who need support to make life easier. The pandemic presented unprecedented demand for assistance from many people in our community. Despite the challenges, JFS continues to be there to answer their calls for help.
End-of-the-year contributions support JFS’s two food pantry locations, older adult programs, counseling and mental health services, emergency assistance programs, chaplaincy program and more.
Tax-deductible contributions to the 2021 JFS Year-End Campaign can be made online at jfskc.org/DONATE or send a check to JFS at 5801 W. 115th St. #103, Overland Park, KS 66211.
