One year ago, the theme of the Intermountain Jewish News Dollars & Sense edition was making heads or tails out of the shock of the financial collapse of late 2008. Who lost money? How much? Will we ever get it back?
This years Dollars & Sense edition deals with the reality of living in a recession. Last year we looked at the toll it was taking on our bank accounts; this year we examine the toll it is taking on our lives.
The toll is significant. Senior Writer Andrea Jacobs found that more and more people are seeking mental health services as a result of losing their jobs. Its not just depression over loss of income, but the blow to ones self-esteem and self-image when an occupation is no longer part of ones identity.
Victims of the economy are also turning to their synagogues for comfort, finding they need the spiritual connections they previously thought they could do without.
On the bright side of the darkness, our day schools are struggling mightily, and successfully, to continue their vital work. Recession or no, our community must continue.
