Program areas at JUF
The Federation's largest endeavor is to allocate funds to a network of nearly 100 agencies and initiatives in the Chicago area that aid 500,000 Chicagoans of all faiths, including: hot meals and groceries, utility and rent assistance, prescriptions and medical care for impoverished families; job training and placement for people who are out of work; therapeutic school and specialized services for people with disabilities; support services for Holocaust survivors; assisted living, specialized services for seniors; respite services for caregivers of frail seniors and people with disabilities; counseling, prevention and intervention services for troubled teens; an entire continuum of prevention and therapeutic services for individuals and families in crisis; and security assistance to safeguard Jewish
Refugee Resettlement Services Program - The Jewish Federation administers comprehensive refugee social services on behalf of the State of Illinois. The Illinois Refugee Social Service Consortium is comprised of 10 direct service agencies committed to providing quality refugee social services including: Employment Assistance, Cultural Adjustment, Case management, K-12, Youth Mentoring, Services to Older Refugees (Seniors), Mental Health counseling, data collection, reporting via an online Salesforce database.
Hillels of Illinois - Federation supports a vast array of activities for students at colleges, universities and professional schools in Illinois. The Hillel program provides opportunities for Jewish students to explore and celebrate their Jewish identity in college campuses across Illinois. Hillel's vision is a world where every Jewish student is inspired to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel. Hillel seeks to enrich the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world. Hillel seeks to create a pluralistic, welcoming and inclusive environment for Jewish college students: an environment where students are encouraged to grow intellectually, spiritually and socially.Increasingly, Hillel must help Jewish students combat the dramatic rise in antisemitism and efforts to delegitimize and demonize Israel.