Teaneck—In an age of decadence, immoral behavior and instant communication, are you armed with the knowledge necessary to iden­tify a predatory situation? Do you have the ba­sic skills to identify the nuances of abuse, mo­lestation and bullying? “There is a heighted awareness. Parents are much more anxious, about something inappropriate happening. They have higher expectations. They are ex­pecting camps to be more accountable about the measures they have put in place to keep their kids safe,” says Esther East LCSW, Director of Jewish Family Services.

Project S.A.R.A.H. a state wide domestic violence and sexual abuse project for Jew­ish families, is facilitating workshops to ed­ucate and keep children safe at camp and elsewhere. The workshops are free of charge designed to educate parents, kids, schools and camps. The project leads informative, interactive workshops tailored specifical­ly to each audience. They share age appro­priate information that sheds light on the silent abuse and help bring clarity to the many daily challenges, issues and risks fac­ing some in our community. “We encourage open dialogue. Prevention is key,” said Elke Stein, LCSW, Director of Violence and Domes­tic Abuse at Project S.A.R.A.H., which servic­es Bergen and Passaic counties and is locat­ed in Clifton.

Supporting children and families facing extraordinary difficulties is what they do, but that support manifests in many ways and takes many forms. “In our fireside chats we speak to parents directly in a par­lor setting, we share solutions and give tips. We empower parents, giving them skills, a tool a way to begin speaking to their chil­dren,” says Stein.

A resource for several area yeshivot, both for students and teachers, the agency is presently working aggressively with area day camps. Project S.A.R.A.H teaches, builds awareness and fundamental training empha­sizing the various types of domestic abuse. “We provide basic skills and offer training to sensitize camp counselors, becoming part an integral part of a camp’s staff orientation at the beginning of and sometimes even in the middle of the summer,” says East. “whatever they need.”

They are also active in many yeshivot under the alienu program, which is anoth­er variation of the dedicated service offered to prevent, make strides, educate and em­power every member of the community. Available as a resource to anyone, anytime simply call Project S.A.R.A.H at 972-777-7638 x154 for more information or go online to http://projectsarah.org .

By Elyse Hansford