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Please join us for informational meetings about the 2017 JCC MACCABI GAMES ® & ARTSFEST ® ! Meetings will be held at the Jewish Community Center Attention Jewish athletes and artists! Team Sports 1-2 p.m. Sunday, December 11, or 6-7 p.m. Thursday, December 15 Individual Sports 2-3 p.m. Sunday, December 11, or 7-8 p.m. Thursday, December 15 ArtsFest 3-4 p.m. Sunday, December 11, or 8-9 p.m. Thursday, December 15 Meet the coaches, receive a tryout/ audition schedule and learn about host locations and other important information.* Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building Eugene & Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus 6600 W. Maple Road West Bloomfield, MI 48322 jccdet.org The 2017 JCC Maccabi Games ® will be July 30-August 4 in Birmingham, Al. The 2017 JCC Maccabi Games ® & ArtsFest ® will be August 6-11 in Miami, Fla. For more information: 248.432.5480 or jccmaccabi@jccdet.org J C C M A C C A B I G A M E S ® & A R T S F E S T ® * Parents with a child trying out for more than one sport, and families with more than one child participating in the JCC Maccabi Games ® & ArtsFest ® need to attend just one meeting. Join us in a community conversation on prostate health, nutrition, exercise, latest treatments, sexual and mental health issues. To RSVP, please visit: MIUMensHealthFoundation.org 1.855.66.HELP.MEN Karmanos' Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center /PSUIXFTUFSO)JHIXBZt'BSNJOHUPO)JMMT.* Your Survival Guide Panel experts: Dr. Joel Kahn, Cardiologist Dr. Michael Cher, Urologist Dr. Jason Hafron, Urologist Dr. Jordan Maier, Radiation Oncologist Kathleen Hardy, Social Worker Julie Booksh, Counselor Moderated by Dr. Michael Lutz Wednesday, December 7, 2016 at 6pm Signature :<9=0=69:/07,=,5; Refreshments will be served. Brought to you in partnership with M ICHIGAN I NSTITUTE OF U ROLOGY FREE EVENT! continued on page 18 16 December 1 • 2016 G erard Baltrusaitis has found his perfect job: assisting mature workers in gaining skills so they can find employment. Baltrusaitis, 57, internship employment specialist at JVS, has been with JVS for just over a year; and his focus is on running the New Experiences Internship Program, which helps those 50 and older refresh their job skills, learn new ones and get new industry/occupa- tional experience by providing full-time paid internships to qualified candidates. "The program has been in existence since October 2013," Baltrusaitis said. "JVS received target funding from the state to address the needs of special populations, which includes those work- ers over 50. "After 2007, a lot transpired in the economy. Changes in the workplace created a definite rise in long-term unemployment for mature workers. The numbers now range from 3 to 4 mil- lion people nationwide in that category, and this is a real concern to us in Metro Detroit." According to Baltrusaitis, JVS CEO Leah Rosenbaum was able to secure this funding to begin services for older work- ers, not only to assist with career plan- ning, but also to deal with the depression that was apparent among this group. "It was a mental health issue," he said. "People became disengaged from society. "This age group had never experi- enced anything like this. To have several jobs within the course of a year — today, that's common — but older workers thought: 'What's wrong with me? Why can't I keep my job?'" Baltrusaitis explained that JVS saw the need to address these issues and estab- lished this program to assist the commu- nity's older workers. Program qualifica- tions include meeting the age requirement and being consid- ered long-term under-employed or unemployed. Potential par- ticipants must also meet certain income requirements and have a clear job target in mind, with a resume designed to match that goal. The whole idea of the pro- gram, he said, is to engage these individuals and give them some traction. And what does this concept mean? Baltrusaitis is uniquely qualified to explain, for not only is he well suited to oversee the internship program and espouse its goals, he, too, has experi- enced the stigma of being without a job. "I've been unemployed six times before. I've experienced long-term unemployment. Years ago, I was blessed to be home with my mother, but I was unemployed for two years. I would sit at home wondering, 'Why hasn't any- one hired me … but I hadn't sent out resumes or done any work. It's a crazy frame of mind, a difficult place to be!" Every day, he noted, it was more of a struggle to get out of the house. "And so to get traction means just to get out and do, not only for the job or the financial aspects of working, but so one can feel needed and productive. "I'm a big believer in us being put here on Earth for one reason: to serve others. When you're unemployed, that's like say- ing you're no longer needed in society. By getting people internships, they're able to say, 'Wow, this employer needs Gerard Baltrusaitis moderates the weekly New Experiences Internship Program class. 16 December 1 • 2016 Gerard Baltrusaitis Judy Greenwald | Contributing Writer metro » Building People Up JVS job internship program helps mature workers.