Yesodot provides parent and sibling support; family recreational outings; presents educational workshops; disseminates information and develops resources; offers programs for young people transitioning from high school, and runs an assistive technology project. Yesodot participates in public awareness activities and collaborates to foster community inclusion. Yesodot also has a project with Boston's sister city, Haifa, Israel.
Specific programs change from year to year, based on the needs of the families.
Individual support, information and referral:
Yesodot has a Family Support and Transition Coordinator to provide intensive, individualized support, to help strategize and problem solve, to refer to resources inside and outside the Jewish community, and to help families locate information on their own.
Parent Support Groups:
Yesodot holds a variety of parent support programs each year, including speakers and an ongoing support group led by a therapist.
Sibling Support Programs:
Sibling support groups for siblings age 5 through early teens are offered each spring, depending on family need, and led by a social worker, specializing in sibling support. Siblings also attend Family ExpLoRATionS recreational programs, and so have the chance to socialize informally with other siblings.
Family Connections:
Yesodot matches families to talk and support each other about mutual concerns, and holds social programs which give families important opportunities to network informally.
Housing Connections:
Yesodot connects individuals with disabilities and their families with others who have similar housing needs.
ASD Moms:
This monthly support group for mothers with children newly diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder is run by the mothers themselves.
For more information about Yesodot's family support programs, please contact the Family Support & Transition Coordinator: info@yesodot.org .
Through its TRANSITIONS program Yesodot supports young adults with disabilities, and their families, as they make the important transition from school to the adult world of work and social services.
Multimedia lending library:
Yesodot has a multimedia lending library of CD Roms, DVDs, books and other materials about Transition, work, social skills, sexuality, housing and related topics that young people and their families may borrow. There is a yearly fee for library borrowing privileges.
Educational workshops for young people and their families:
Yesodot runs workshops for young people and their families related to Transition, including job readiness and job hunting, understanding benefits, and financial and estate planning as well as workshops related to the Transition process.
Referral and resources:
Yesodot's Family Support & Transition Coordinator provides referral and resources for families regarding the Transition process.
Grant based programs:
Each year, depending on available funding, Yesodot runs additional programs for teens, young adults and their families. In past years families received extensive training about Transition, and important information in advance of IEP meetings. At other times Yesodot worked to develop volunteer opportunities to explore career options.
For more information about Yesodot's Transition programs, please contact the Family Support & Transition Coordinator: info@yesodot.org .
YESODOT'S FAMILY EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Yesodot empowers families through education, information and resources.
Parent Workshops:
Each year, Yesodot runs numerous parent education workshops. Past workshops have included: financial planning, estate planning, stress management, Housing 101 and Employment 101, and evenings with authors and experts. Topics differ from year to year and are based on the needs identified by our families.
Y-TECH (Yesodot's Technology Empowerment in the Community and at Home):
Since its inception, Yesodot has been committed to disseminating information about assistive technology as a tool for empowerment and community inclusion, and to that end has held a variety of assistive technology programs. On May 21, 2006, Yesodot held Y-TECH AT Day 2006: AT 'Round the Clock, a statewide conference on the use of assistive technology at work, home, school and in the community. Yesodot is also partnering with other assistive technology programs to enhance AT information on its website and to give its families access to online books and augmentative communication materials.
E-News:
Yesodot families and members of the public receive Yesodot's community events e-news with a compilation of events and resources related to disabilities in the Greater Boston area. Yesodot has a second e-news in which families can share information with each other and learn about upcoming Yesodot programs.
Website:
Yesodot has a resource laden handicap accessible website for use by families and members of the public.
Resource Materials:
Yesodot has prepared a variety of resource materials, which are free for its paid up member families and available for a nominal cost to others. Titles include: Transition, Financial Planning Resources, Jewish Children's Books on Disabilities, Housing, Bar/Bat Mitzvah Checklist, Sibling Info Pack, Internet Resources.
Communication and Art Materials:
Yesodot has developed communication materials and adapted art kits which member families may borrow to use for participation in Jewish community-wide events.
For more information about Yesodot's workshops, please contact the Family Support & Transition Coordinator: info@yesodot.org . For assistive technology information, contact Leah Abrams, Director at director@yesodot.org or (617) 399-3299.
Yesodot provides recreational activities for the whole family.
Each year Yesodot families enjoy a variety of social and recreational events. Yesodot developed these programs in response to family requests for programs where everyone in the family could relax and be themselves.
Adaptive skiing
Museum programs
Outings
Annual Camp Yavneh visit
Holiday and other parties
For more information, please contact the Program Associate: info@yesodot.org or (617) 399-3231.
YESODOT'S PROGRAMS TO FOSTER COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS, DISABILITY AWARENESS AND INCLUSION
Yesodot works to develop community linkages and foster inclusion in a variety of ways:
Community linkages:
Yesodot staff sit on the Boston Jewish Community Special Needs Professional Committee, and Yesodot member families and staff sit on a number of Jewish community and other committees and represent Yesodot's interests to these groups. Yesodot's members participate in Boston Celebrates Israel, and Jewish Community Advocacy Day, sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council and MAJF, as well as Super Sunday, Combined Jewish Philanthropies' fundraising day.
Consultation on programmatic and physical accessibility
Mishpacha L'Mishpacha/Family to Family:
Yesodot's program with the Jewish community's sister city of Haifa, Israel, funded through CJP's Boston-Haifa connection. Yesodot fosters family to family connections in the two cities via email. In late March, '06, staff and two parents traveled to Israel to meet with parents. A Yesodot family trip to Israel is planned for 2008. For more information, go to the Mishpacha L'Mishpacha webpage http://www.yesodot.org/about/mishpacha.htm
Disability Awareness Month in the Jewish Community
The Special Needs Professional Committee of the Greater Boston Jewish Community sponsors Disability Awareness Month, held during the Jewish month of Iyar, in cooperation with Synagogue Council of Massachusetts. Conceived of by Yesodot's executive council of parents, Disability Awareness Month focuses on issues of awareness and inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of Jewish community life. For more information, go to the Disability Awareness Month webpage http://www.yesodot.org/month.htm
