Danielle V. Minson — Raising the Bar
Cincinnati 2020 in 2017: Larry Juran
Each installment in this series features a different perspective on Cincinnati 2020, the Jewish community’s visionary plan for building an exceptional future. This week, we hear from Larry Juran, President-Elect for Jewish Family Service.
What is your current title, both in regards to JFS Care Management and in terms of your involvement with Cincinnati 2020?
I will soon be installed as the President of the Board of Jewish Family Service, which is the Jewish agency in Cincinnati devoted to strengthening lives in times of need. Of course, JFS is also one of the Cincinnati 2020 partners. I quickly learned when I joined the board that care management is our core competency. It is the approach and the methodology that is used in almost all of the services that we provide.
How did you first get involved in (or hear about) Cincinnati 2020? What is your role now?
I first heard about Cincinnati 2020 as a new JFS board member in 2011. But when Cincinnati 2020 started its planning in 2010, I was already a volunteer with Jewish Family Service Heldman Family Food Pantry, which was then located at Golf Manor Synagogue and is now at the Barbash Family Vital Support Center in Clifton. I saw firsthand the importance of community members helping each other when I delivered food to families—including many elderly couples—who were struggling financially and had a difficult time getting nutritious food at home.
I also learned that food insecurity is only part of the problem; these same people also needed professional care management to connect them with federal food stamp programs so they have food throughout the month, to teach them how to budget their limited incomes so they are not evicted from their homes, to help them with utility bills so they will be warm in the winter, and in some cases to aid their move to a safe environment free of domestic abuse. All of these services are offered to help our clients attain self-sufficiency, which is at the core of care management and is also a specific target of Cincinnati 2020.
My role now is to lead our board in its continuing efforts to establish a solid financial foundation for JFS and to refine our programs and services so that we are responsive to evolving Jewish community needs. As just one example, the wave of Baby Boomer retirees, many of whom are without adequate pension resources, will present a real challenge to meeting the Cincinnati 2020 goal that 90% of our Jewish clients over 65 will have the support needed to live independently.
What does Cincinnati 2020 mean to you, given your involvement with JFS Care Management?
One of Cincinnati 2020’s key elements is Caring: Ensure Quality of Life for All. This really encompasses the objectives of all that we do and the key outcomes that we measure, which are helping people achieve greater stability, self-sufficiency, and personal growth.
For example, the care management provided by our team of licensed social workers and care managers helps people in our Jewish community—our family, friends, and neighbors—gain better control of their lives when facing a crisis. Our JFS geriatric professionals guide the elderly and their families through the complex maze of older adult services and resources to help them live independently in their own homes and maintain a high quality of life. This includes specialized care management provided to Holocaust survivors and Russian-speaking seniors, each of whom have unique care management needs.
Cincinnati 2020 gives JFS a context for our care management work—it provides a broader agenda of which we are an integral part, and is our way of contributing to achieve the Cincinnati 2020 goals.
Why should Cincinnati 2020 and JFS care management be important to the community?
As Jews, we are commanded to perform tzedakah (charity). While this duty can be carried out in many ways, certainly it includes helping the poor and others in need. JFS care management takes this one step further by helping our clients learn to help themselves. While there are many worthy community priorities, we certainly believe that these efforts deserve support.
Has Cincinnati 2020 been successful so far? How do you measure its successes, both when it comes to JFS care management, and otherwise?
In a certain sense, Cincinnati 2020 was successful from its inception as a concrete demonstration of the ability of our Jewish community to work together to set shared goals. On an ongoing basis, it has been of great help to our board and executive team in establishing guideposts for our programming decisions, and as a reference point for the ongoing measurement of outcomes that is at the core of our agency.
What do you hope the community accomplishes through Cincinnati 2020 in the next five years, both in terms of supporting families, and otherwise?
I hope that the community finishes strong in reaching for the Cincinnati 2020 goals, and is fortified by the successes we have so that we are emboldened to strive for even more when we get to work on Cincinnati 2030.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Having a strong Jewish community is something I take very personally. Though relative newcomers by Cincinnati standards, having arrived in the early 1960s, my family has now planted deep roots here through four generations. My children have already become involved in the community, and I see Cincinnati 2020 as an investment in their future and the future of their children.
Jewish Family Service will hold its 73rd Annual Meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 21 at the Mayerson JCC. To register, visit https://www.jfscinti.org or email ptompkins@jfscinti.org.
