The Ezra program at Camp Ramah in Ojai is a 4- or 8-week vocational training program for young adults ages 18-26. During the summer, Ezra Program participants live at camp alongside 1,400 staff and campers. The Ezra Program allows participants to take their existing skills and enhance them to live more independent and productive lives. Ezra participants receive job-training experience in several service areas throughout camp and are held accountable for their interpersonal relationships in the Ramah community. Program goals include preparing young adults for independent living and teaching them employment-related skills.

For more information about any of our Tikvah programs, contact Elana Naftalin Kelman, Tikvah Director, at elana@ramah.org.

Chaverim is a social group that brings together adults with diverse abilities ages 18+ for fun activities, day trips, and a wide variety of programs and events. The group meets weekly for programming that builds meaningful connections, social skills, and fun-filled and structured secular and Jewish activities. Chaverim plans 6-8 activities per month on weeknights, a quarterly day trip on Sundays, an annual Passover Seder and Chanukah party, plus special events. For more information about current programming, please call (818) 464-3360 or email chaverim@jfsla.org.

Since 1993, ETTA has been serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families on the West Coast. ETTA's services include residential housing, case management, educational services, social service assistance, and employment training and placement. ETTA enables people with disabilities to achieve greater independence, autonomy, success, participation in community, and inclusion.

Friendship Circle blurb behind logo: The Friendship Circle's mission is to provide Jewish children who have special needs with a full range of social, recreational, educational, and Jewish experiences; to provide their parents with respite and support; and to enrich, inspire, and motivate Jewish teenagers through sharing of themselves with others. The Friendship Circle envisions a world where people with special needs and their families are accepted, included, and befriended so they can become successful members of society. Through our many programs, we hope to make the world a better place.

The Jewish Los Angeles Special Needs Trust (JLA Trust) helps people with disabilities supplement their government benefits with affordable, professional special needs trust services. JLA Trust works to ensure that adults and children with disabilities may obtain a high quality of life. Through the use of available trust funds, JLA Trust helps to improve well-being beyond a client’s current status quo, facilitating budgeting decisions and contributing to peace of mind. 

OurSpaceLA offers a full spectrum of Jewish experiences that enable participants to actively embrace Judaism as a meaningful way of life. Participants learn about Shabbat, Jewish holidays, customs, traditions, prayer, and values. They celebrate holidays, life-cycle events, and other important milestones. The variety of program opportunities offered enables participants to create lifelong friendships, and together they are empowered to become active and contributing members of the larger Jewish community. OurSpaceLA is a program of Valley Beth Shalom and synagogue membership is not required for participation. To enroll, please contact Susan North Gilboa, Director of OurSpaceLA Programs, at (818) 530-4069.

Shalom Institute's ShemeshFarms inspires its employees (Farm Fellows), who have special needs and diverse abilities, to strive towards independence, self-determination, and a life filled with purpose, friendship, and inclusion. Together with volunteers, Farm Fellows work at ShemeshFarms planting, harvesting, and creating our signature herb-infused culinary salts and spices that we sell at ShemeshFarm Stands at Los Angeles-area Farmer’s Markets and on their websites. The Farm Fellows participate in every aspect of the enterprise, including branding, marketing, farming, product development, sales, and packaging and shipping of the products sold via our online store. ShemeshFarms is a dynamic environment and a vibrant place where all are treated with dignity and respect.

The Miracle Project is a fully inclusive theater, film, and expressive arts program focused on building communication, self-esteem, and job and social skills for individuals with autism and all abilities — speaking and non-speaking. Using groundbreaking and evidence-based methods developed by founder Elaine Hall, The Miracle Project focuses on the strengths and abilities inherent in each participant while developing a unique neurodiverse community. Through shared experiences with peers and volunteers, individuals with autism and other disabilities find their voice, develop their talents, rehearse for life, belong, and are celebrated for who they are.

In the tradition of Vista Del Mar’s Jewish core values, Jewish Life Programs offers children with autism and other special needs a place where they are valued and celebrated in an atmosphere that is safe, nurturing, and joyous. Services include individualized religious education programming and classes for children of ALL abilities, communal service learning for young adults, bar/bat mitzvah tutoring, inclusive High Holiday Services, special Shabbat services, and community meals and holiday celebrations for the whole family. Through our fully inclusive program, families and individuals of ALL abilities have a welcoming place where connections are made and lifelong relationships are established in the Jewish community.

Based on Jewish values, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles convenes and leads the community and leverages its resources to assure the continuity of the Jewish people, support a secure State of Israel, care for Jews in need here and abroad, and mobilize on issues of concern to the local community — all with our local, national, and international partners. Working with our partners in Los Angeles, we provide individuals with diverse abilities with greater access to quality services and programs that enhance daily living and inclusion in our community.