Multi Service history

The demand for assistance was great and other Jewish community members established similar groups (e.g., Hebrew Charity Society, Mishkan Israel Sisterhood Philanthropic works). In 1919 they all merged to become United Jewish Charities.

In 1920 this agency, along with others in the community, helped to found the Community Chest, known today as the United Way.

Fueled by a grant from the Seattle King County Economic Opportunity Board they formed the South King County Multi-Service Center (now called Multi-Service Center), which opened its doors in August 1971 to low-income families.

In 1979, Multi-Service Center received a federal contract to offer home energy assistance, helping 232 households that first year keep their heat on in the coldest of months.

Our History: The Veterans Multi-Service Center (VMC) was founded in 1980 to address the multiple needs of Vietnam Veterans.

Remaining open and flexible to other program opportunities as they presented themselves, the agency was awarded a contract in 1989, to operate the statewide Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program when it was first privatized by the State Legislature.

In 1994, MSC’s domestic violence program opened its own shelter and stepped out from under the agency umbrella to form its own independent agency.

Financially floundering in 1995, and on the verge of collapse, MSC hired a new executive director, Dini Duclos, whose first order of business was to extricate the agency from debt.

Extensive renovations occurred and PVMSEC relocated all programs and services to our new location in 1999.

Longtime CEO Dini Duclos retired December 2011, leaving a fiscally strong agency with a solid reputation for meeting and exceeding outcomes while making a valuable impact on the communities it serves.

Robin Corak became CEO in 2012 after having been employed by Multi-Service Center for ten years, the prior two as Chief Operations Officer.

Honored as 2013 Top-Rated Non-Profit by Greatnonprofits.org

And finally, 75 years later, in 2015, the name of the agency was changed once again to its current Jewish Family Service of Greater New Haven to better reflect the agency’s expanded outreach and community presence throughout the entire Greater New Haven region.