Beachwood Buzz – May 2025
In recognition of May is Mental Health Awareness month, learn about the pivotal role Jewish Family Service of Cleveland has played in serving the mental health needs of Northeast Ohio. This is the second in a series of articles focused on JFSA’s 150-year history.

The deinstitutionalization of psychiatric hospital patients in Ohio began in earnest during the 1960s, spurred by the 1963 Community Mental Health Act, which provided funding for community-based mental health services as an alternative to institutionalization, expansion of Medicaid and the development of anti-psychotic medications such as Haldol and Thorazine.

When Cleveland State Hospital closed in 1971, discharged patients, many of whom had been institutionalized for decades, were released into community-based settings ill-prepared to care for them. Many were left isolated, living in unsafe conditions and receiving substandard or no treatment at all. At the time, a community needs assessment led by JFSA and lay leaders determined that counseling and social connection coupled with life-and job-skills training was needed to successfully integrate individuals back into the community.

As community needs evolved, so did JFSA.

1973: The first program for persons with severe mental disability begins with a service to assist individuals discharged from state-operated mental hospitals.

1979: Co-sponsored by the National Council for Jewish Women, Council House opens its doors as the first residential home in Cleveland for six Jewish men with chronic mental illness.

1980: JFSA is certified as a Community Mental Health Facility.

1989: JFSA implements a breakthrough staffing model of peer to peer support for clients. Known as case manager assistants, these individuals who themselves live with mental illness are instrumental in enhancing a client’s recovery.

1996: The TAPP program (Training and Placement Program) is established providing individuals with mental illness resources to gain employment.

2004: JFSA acquires the Psychobiology Clinic of Greater Cleveland, expanding its psychiatric clinical services.

2009: The Center for Cognition and Recovery is established to disseminate CET Cleveland (Cognitive Enhancement Therapy) on a national level.

2011: JFSA acquires PLAN (Planned Lifetime Assistance Network), an organization supporting family-centered advocacy and support, and lifetime planning.

2013: Recognizing the importance of integrated health care, Alyson’s Place Medical Clinic is established, providing clients with direct access to primary medical care, dental, podiatric and ophthalmic care.

Today, JFSA operates six supportive housing sites and an 11-unit apartment building. Over 500 individuals living with serious mental illness receive comprehensive services, including psychiatry, group services, art therapy, lifetime planning, and special needs trust liaison services. Staffed by a multi-disciplinary team of case managers, counselors, psychiatrists and nurses, this holistic approach aims to help individuals face life’s challenges with confidence.