In the early 1980s, when Ometz was known as the Baron de Hirsch Institute, a private family service agency with administrative links to CLSC Rene Cassin, I was involved in a planning committee concerning the services of these two organizations. I subsequently became a member of the board of directors of the Jewish Family Services of the Baron de Hirsch Institute, an involvement that spanned over a decade and several organizational transitions.

The agency was funded largely by Federation CJA. Federation began questioning the agency’s mandate and the viability of its existence. Realizing that we did not have many allies within the Jewish community and that our mandate was unclear, we needed to come up with a clear mission and a sound justification to keep the agency running. We knew that Federation would either stop our funding and shut down the agency, or we were going to succeed in transforming the agency into a more viable organization.

We formed a strategic planning committee made up of board members and staff, which I chaired. Our objective was to save the agency. We analyzed what government services existed and where the gaps were, redefined our niche of services for the Jewish community, and set out to improve our relationship with our funder and to make our presence better known to the community. One of the highlights of this effort was the Annual Meeting which we strategically planned to gain support for our renewed mission and services. Unusual for an Annual meeting, there was standing room only as over 200 former board members, present and past clients, community interest groups, the media and other agency partners attended to show their support. Everything about our strategic efforts was planned down to the last detail and this was done to ensure the survival of the agency.

Our goals had been to make sure Federation realized how vital our services were to the community and to make the community more aware of the work of the Jewish Family Services of the Baron de Hirsch Institute. We succeeded because of the commitment, focus and hard work of the volunteers and staff on the Strategic Planning Committee and on the Board of Directors. The vision, effort and dedication of these people not only saved the agency but also created a realignment of our services to better meet the community’s needs. Our improved collaboration with our community partners and with Federation CJA continued and some time later we proposed to the Federation leadership that JFS, JEM and JIAS be merged to create a seamless flow of services – an initiative that happened many years later, resulting in the creation of Ometz.

My involvement with the agency and the community continued for many years: I served on the BDH Board of Directors and became President of JFS of the Baron de Hirsch Institute in 1996. Among my other community activities, I was elected President of the President’s Council of Federation-affiliated agencies, was a member of the Federation CJA Board of Trustees and then became a member of its Executive Committee. I served on the BDH Cemetery Board of Directors as a JFS representative. I then got involved with JIAS, both as a volunteer and as a professional during a period in its history of upheaval, transformation and renewal.

I am proud to have been associated with JFS and JIAS and to have been part of the birth of Ometz and witness to the strong agency it has become. It is well positioned for the future to support and give a helping hand to our Montreal Jewish community - children and youth, singles, couples and families who are disadvantaged, in financial or psychological distress, in crisis or in transition.