Jewish Family Service (Seattle, Wash.)

The Jewish Family Service was founded in 1892 by 37 women, headed by mother and daughter Esther Levy and Lizzie Cooper. The agency changed its name many times over its history to reflect its focus during different time periods.

In 1892, the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society was organized by volunteers to help the Jewish poor in Seattle. In 1917, it merged with the Seattle Hebrew Benevolent Association (a closely related organization, composed entirely of men, founded in 1895), becoming the Seattle Hebrew Benevolent Association. In 1929, the organization was renamed the Jewish Welfare Society.

The agency provided emergency services during the Depression and World War II. From 1933 to 1935, it was designated by the state of Washington to administer relief to Jewish people as part of the Department of Public Welfare. Between 1946 and 1950, it took in the duties of the Washington Emigre Bureau, which assisted newly arrived European refugees. The work of the agency had changed from that of a relief agency to that of a social service agency, and in 1947 it became a member of the Family Service Association of America, changing its name to the Jewish Family and Child Service.

In 1978, the named changed again, to Jewish Family Service. That year, the Jewish Family Life Education Program was launched, focusing on family issues such as parenting, caring for aging parents and workshops for couples.

In 1987, Jewish Family Service created a subsidiary corporation, the Seattle Association for Jewish Disabled (SAJD), to serve individuals and families coping with mental illness, mental retardation, traumatic brain injury and other developmental disabilities.