By Ruchama Schnaidman

 

 

 

What does your dream home look like? Is it a warm, welcoming space for your family—a sunlit kitchen table, backpacks dropped by the door, and a playroom that rings with laughter?

In a dream home, every room is built with intention—soft colors for the teenage girls, playful corners for the little boys. A quiet nook for homework. A cozy den for family nights. You want your children to thrive in calm and peace, so each room is designed with focus, clarity, and intent.

Because when you set out to build your dream, you’re not looking for a house. You’re building a home.

 

 

 

 

At Chai Lifeline New Jersey, our dream looks the same. The children aren’t members of a thousand separate families. They’re members of one family—our family. And since every family needs a home base and every child needs a place that says, “You belong here,” we set out to build that home—a home where every member of our family is always welcome, always cared for, and always understood.

This building didn’t come from theory. It came from families and from years of sitting with parents trying to hold their homes together during illness and crisis. If you ask Rabbi Sruli Fried, MSW, Director of Chai Lifeline New Jersey, how the center began, he won’t mention architectural plans. He’ll talk to you about Tuesday afternoons in a typical Lakewood home and the shake-up that ensues when a family faces illness.

 

 

The heart of what we do

Down County Line Road in Jackson, a home is being built for the Chai Lifeline family, and every inch of space has been designed with thoughtful care. The purpose of the home? To provide a stable, supportive home base for families facing medical challenges. Because when serious illness strikes the heart of a home, routine tumbles and stability falters.

“That’s where we step in,” says Rabbi Fried. “At its core, Chai Lifeline’s mission is to maintain a family’s equilibrium during a time of serious or lifelong illness and to provide stability when their world turns upside down.”

Ask anyone in Lakewood what Chai Lifeline does, and they’ll mention big brothers and sisters, food deliveries, rides to CHOP, respite care, and Camp Simcha. And they’re not wrong—but they’re missing the foundation everything else rests on: the case manager who becomes the anchor in these families’ lives, holding them together and providing sorely needed stability when their home is in freefall.

“When a child or young parent is sick, a home’s stability is challenged at its core,” Rabbi Fried says. The ordinary rhythms that ground a child’s life disappear, and with them goes the sense of home as a place where life unfolds the way it’s supposed to.

For years, Rabbi Fried’s mission has been to restore that stability to every member of the Chai Lifeline family. Now, that mission is reaching a whole new level.

 

 

A place to live

“I wanted to create a home away from home,” says Rabbi Fried. “A place where children can come after school, have a wholesome dinner, do homework with a volunteer, and relax in the art spot. A center of stability and a home where families feel cared for during the hardest times.”

What’s inside this home? “Something for everyone,” explains Chaviva Sochet, Campaign Manager. “For parents, teens, little ones, boys, girls, medically challenged children, and their siblings.”

For instance, when a mother is stuck at CHOP, she can call her case manager to have her children brought to Chai Lifeline’s home, where they’ll be welcomed, fed, and cared for. A boy whose father hasn’t been home for days can come to learn with a tutor and enjoy a basketball game. A teen girl who’s holding her family together and needs a break can go swimming with others her age in similar situations. And a mother who simply needs support can meet like-minded friends over coffee in the cafeteria.

“Our new home will be that place for those who need a place to just be,” says Chaviva. “It will have an art spot, library, pool, gym, game room, therapy rooms, beis medrash, music studio, and rooftop space—all designed with care and accessibility in mind. From wide hallways and wheelchair-friendly sinks to adaptive play areas, every detail was built for our families.”

“We didn’t just build a house,” Chaviva adds. “We built a home, shaped by the voices and needs of the people who will fill it.”

 

 

Strengthening bonds

Chai Lifeline offers a wide range of programs for children and families, from Sunday clubs to sibling outings, after-school programs, and parent support gatherings.

“Currently, everything’s scattered across Lakewood,” Rabbi Aharon Koslowitz, Director of Services, says. “Every event means finding a location and figuring out logistics. With the construction of our new home, instead of meeting all over town, Chai Lifeline’s ‘big’ and ‘little’ sisters will come together in one space with coordinators on site, bringing supervision, stability, and community.”

“Imagine hosting an event without worrying about venues or timing,” he continues. “At the center, staff and volunteers are all right there. It’ll be a place for events, programs, and clubs, but most of all, it will be a home where our families can truly connect.”

“When parents or kids meet others in similar situations, they feel understood and less alone. Those bonds are transformative,” explains Rabbi Yehoshua Brodsky, Assistant Regional Director. “When two children meet in this building, their shared experience will be the only introduction needed.”

 

 

Welcome home

Our home has been built with visions like this one:

It’s late afternoon as the building begins to fill. The doors open and children come into the warm, welcoming lobby, each choosing the direction they will take. A volunteer asks a child, “Do you want to eat first or start homework?” In the Art Spot, a girl finishes a project and pins it herself to the massive tree at the center of the room, designed to display the children’s artwork, as her big sister stands by, admiring the piece. In the beis medrash, chavrusas meet to learn and chazer. In a small side room, a mother speaks with a case manager who listens and quietly supports her.

It’s the magic of restored rhythm—the peace of stability.

As a Chai Lifeline volunteer says, “When we meet with our little sisters, we don’t talk about anything big. We schmooze about homework, the latest fad in school, and what they ate for lunch that day. At a time when their homes are so busy, the building will give them a part of life that’s ordinary.”

The building will become part of the family’s weekly rhythm, the way school, shul, and home are. It’s a place where identity doesn’t shift based on medical circumstances.

“Being in the hospital with my sick child is incredibly challenging,” shares Mrs. N. Friedman, whose son is often admitted. “But sometimes, it’s even harder when I think of my children at home, wondering if they’ve eaten, if someone’s helping with homework, if they feel cared for. Knowing they’ll have a safe, happy place to go, surrounded by people who understand, gives me so much peace of mind. This building isn’t just a space; it’s our lifeline.”

“Chai Lifeline’s goal is to bring the family back to what it was before illness struck,” says Rabbi Brodsky. “This center brings all our services together under one roof, giving us an even greater ability to be there for our families.”

“This is truly unique,” Rabbi Fried adds. “A building for the entire family, where healthy children, unwell children, and their parents can simply live their lives, no matter what challenges they face.”

 

 

Building with heart

The location was chosen with care—it’s on the way to CHOP and at the center of one of Lakewood’s fastest-growing young communities. Careful research, thought, and planning went into every area of the building. It’s a home that has a place and space for every member of the Chai Lifeline family. A home that truly feels like home.