11 years ago, communal charities Jami and Jewish Care came together to create a single mental health service for the Jewish community. The Boards of Trustees of both organisations have decided that now is the right time to fully integrate their services with each other.

Jami currently shares some back-office functions with Jewish Care and recently relocated their primary office to Jewish Care’s Amelie House in the Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Campus, to help share running costs. Greater integration of services will bring both organisations closer together and underlines their commitment to invest in mental health services for the community.

This move will bring many opportunities for both Jami, Jewish Care, and the whole community, including better use of community resources. Above all, it will ensure that the needs of the community continue to be met effectively, and the future of Jami’s vital mental health services are sustainable and secured for the future. Full integration will also bring greater resources to mental health, focused governance, a stronger capacity to raise funds, and broader promotion of Jami’s services to the community.

This announcement comes at a time when the prevalence of mental illness, distress and trauma amongst young people and adults is increasing.

Jewish Care have committed to all services being offered by Jami being unaffected by this integration. Both organisations remain firmly committed to Jami’s strategy, and to ensuring all services, as well as education and campaigning, continue to be delivered with the values of lived experience, professional expertise, and service user involvement at their core.

Jewish Care has said that they will keep the Jami brand, with Jewish Care’s CEO Daniel Carmel-Brown commenting.

“Jami has built up a fantastic reputation in the community over three decades. Keeping the Jami name is a strong part of who they are and what the community relates to. This is an exciting opportunity for both organisations and comes at a time when mental health and its prevalence continues to grow each year. Coming together means that we can ensure Jami’s services are sustainable for generations to come.”.

Jewish Care’s intention is to transfer across all Jami’s 92 members of staff to the employment of Jewish Care under TUPE regulations, subject to the normal consultation process, and to ensure that every single one of Jami’s 280 volunteers continues in their vital roles.

Jami Chief Executive, Laurie Rackind, will step down from his role after 17 years of leading the charity. Laurie has transformed Jami into a leading mental health provider within the Jewish community and a recognised provider of pioneering service delivery models in the wider mental health and social care sectors. Laurie will remain closely involved with the transition towards full integration of Jami services into Jewish Care over the coming months.

Jami Chief Executive, Laurie Rackind commented:

“It has been an honour and a privilege to have led Jami for the last 17 years, and I feel proud of the progress that has been made during my time here. Jami has transformed the way mental health services are delivered. Thanks to initiatives like Head Room, Jami delivers support on the high street while tackling the issues of stigma, changing the way the Jewish and local community think about mental illness and distress. The lone figure on the street that was once treated with disdain is now the person sitting in our café being supported with respect. None of this progress would have been possible without the support from the Jami Board of Trustees, my colleagues, Jewish Care, Jami’s supporters and volunteers, and the wider community”.

Jami Chairman, Adam Dawson, commented of the fuller integration:

“This is a natural development given how closely Jami and Jewish Care have worked over the last decade. It will expand our knowledge, expertise, and resources to enable Jami to continue providing hope and help to everyone living with mental illness and distress in the community. Over the last 17 years Laurie has driven Jami to transform the way mental health services are delivered, and as a result thousands of lives have benefited. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Laurie; his contribution to Jami and our community has been enormous.”

Jewish Care Chairman Jonathan Zenios commented:

“This is an excellent and exciting development, a reflection of both organisations commitment to continue investing in mental health services, and a natural progression for both charities to offer the very best mental health resources for our community. We can now look forward to build on the services already provided and ensure the community’s needs are met in the most efficient and effective way.”

If you need support or are supporting someone who needs help, visit jamiuk.org/get-support/ or contact 020 8458 2223.

If you are struggling to cope or need immediate help, contact Shout’s 24/7 crisis text service. Text Jami to 85258 for free, confidential support.

For free, safe and confidential online counselling and emotional wellbeing services for adults, contact Jami Qwell at www.qwell.io/jami

For more information, please contact Hayley Aaron, PR and Communications Manager, Jami at hayley.aaron@jamiuk.org