Six months have passed since Rosh Hashana 5776 and during that time, Klal Yisrael has lost 57 neshamos in the tri-state area (below the age of 35) to suicide and drug and alcohol overdoses.
“Considerable effort has been focused on Jewish outreach, but what about in-reach, dealing with our own children first?” asked Rabbi Zvi Gluck, director of Amudim Community Resources, the far-reaching crisis intervention agency, often at the forefront of coordinating efforts between different organizations both locally and abroad. “When one frum child becomes an addict or exhibits other in-pain or at-risk behaviors, it can destroy entire families and so many lives are at stake. To put it simply, chesed must start at home.”
Tuesday, April 12, is being designated as the official “Pomegranate Giving for Youth Day,” as approximately 20 organizations (and growing) launch a collaborative worldwide effort to raise over $2 million for at-risk Jewish youth in just 24 hours.
The campaign will be run on Charidy, a quadruple-matching, all or nothing, 24-hour platform and will raise both funds and awareness for this ever-growing issue that continues to plague the Jewish community. The fundraiser is a unified effort by the various groups, each of which fills a crucial void in assisting at-risk and struggling teenagers in different ways.
“People don’t realize that no organization can tackle all of the different aspects independently and how multiple organizations must often work in tandem to simply save one life,” explained Rabbi Aryeh Young, executive director of Our Place, who is coordinating the campaign in conjunction with Abe Banda of Pomegranate, Brooklyn’s premier upscale shopping experience.
Proceeds from Pomegranate Giving for Youth will be used to fund drop-in centers, summer camps, recovery and rehabilitation programs, curriculum programs, residential shelters, yeshivos and other much-needed programs. Each serves a unique purpose, helping at-risk teens throughout the various stages of their individual situations.
Participating organizations include Aish Tamid (Los Angeles), Aishel (Toronto), Aliya Center (Crown Heights), Aliya Girls (Crown Heights), Aliya Melbourne (Australia), Amudim (nationwide), Bais Menachem (Wilkes Barre, PA), Camp Extreme (Five Towns/nationwide), Lev Shlomo (Baltimore), MASK (Brooklyn), Miryam’s House (Brooklyn), Our Place Boys (Flatbush), Our Place Girls (Flatbush), Retorno Rehab (Israel), The Center (Miami), The Living Room (tri-state area), The Safe Foundation (Brooklyn), The Saving Lives Coalition (Los Angeles), Torah Youth Center (Cleveland), Yedidim (Israel) and Yeshivas Ohr Yitzchak (Flatbush)… and the list keeps growing!
Over time, this problem has continued to grow, impacting every sizable Jewish community, and the statistics climb steadily with every passing year. “Unfortunately, practically everyone either has a family member that has been affected or knows someone or a family struggling with these issues,” said Ike Dwek, founder and executive director of The Safe Foundation. When everyone is affected, it can no longer be swept under the rug.
“We have already seen over 100 teenagers from heimishe communities arrested for drug- and alcohol-related crimes in the past six months,” added Rabbi Gluck.
The time has come to rally members of the Jewish community worldwide in order to combat this growing problem.
“We need all hands on deck,” said Banda. “It doesn’t matter if you’re Litvish, Syrian, Chabad, Modern Orthodox, Chasidish or anything else. At the end of the day, we are all Jewish and we must all come together for the sake of Pikuach Nefashos.”
To be connected to any of the individual participating organizations, for sponsorship opportunities or to inquire about possible participation for your organization, contact Rabbi Aryeh Young at 516-512-4494 or [email protected].
