Mayfield Stewart has been a client of various Jewish Board services since 1994. After several attempts to escape abuse at home she was referred to Hawthorne Cedar-Knolls as a teenager. She thrived at the Hawthorne school. Her musical talents inspired Jewish Board staff to secure her training in opera singing, which led to a semester studying singing in Hungary and a performance at the Hawthorne school graduation. However, she continued to struggle socially. After violent conflicts with fellow clients, she moved into The Jewish Board’s independent living program. She credits Jewish Board staff with providing some of her first experiences of love and family, as well as a balance between support and independence that has generally served her well for the past thirty years.
