It’s Toni Jacobsen, Clinical Director of Jewish Family Service. Esther is on vacation and getting ready for the holidays with her family, so she asked me to fill in for her this month. Since I don’t have a question from a reader, I thought I would make you aware of a series of programming JFS is planning for you.

Due to the increase in anxiety and depression brought on by the pandemic, we thought it was timely and important to put together a program focused on mental health with the goals of education, increasing awareness and reducing the stigma. As we reflected on the events of the past year and looked at the needs, it was clear to us this topic is beyond a one-time program. So, we decided to put together a year’s worth of programming for all ages focused on aspects of mental health. The name of this series is called Mental Health Matters.