FEATURING SAFE FOUNDATION, RETORNO, THE LIVING ROOM & THE SAVING LLIVES COALITION
At risk teens.
A phrase we hear all too often as the number of kids who find themselves struggling with difficult challenges continues to grow with every passing year. With those rising numbers, thankfully, have come numerous agencies to help stem the tide and a fundraising campaign to be held next week will raise much needed monies to support their lifesaving efforts.
The Pomegranate Day of Giving for Youth will be held on Tuesday, April 12th. All funds donated during the 24 hour campaign will be quadrupled in this all or nothing fundraiser with a goal of $2 million to benefit a group of 20 organizations that help at risk teens. While some are dedicated to running dedicated drop in centers, others are dedicated to prevention and educational facilities. Another extremely important component of the equation are recovery and rehabilitation facilities which help those in crisis deal with their issues and then turn the corner so that they can go on to lead healthy and productive lives.
Based in Brooklyn, The SAFE Foundation is an OASAS, New York State licensed, non-profit organization dedicated to treating and preventing drug, alcohol and gambling addictions in the Jewish community. SAFE’s drug, alcohol, and gambling outpatient program approaches healing holistically, as addiction therapists and specialists address the patient’s whole environment, treating family members in conjunction with the patient. Professionals working at SAFE are trained and well-acquainted with Jewish law, practices, and concerns.
SAFE also runs a school prevention program for approximately 10,000 5th though 12th graders, in over 25 yeshivot internationally. In weekly classes throughout the school year, SAFE teachers use a specially formulated curriculum, as well as class discussion, contests, and high-profile speakers, to promote prevention and healthy life skills. The SAFE Parent Program is another division of SAFE dedicated to imparting valuable information and awareness to parents with articles and tips via email blasts, social media posts, printed brochures in synagogues, small home based gatherings, and programs for large audiences.
The Living Room is a division of Our Place with meeting locations in Brooklyn & Monsey, offering young adults throughout the tri-state area who are recovering from addiciton a 12 step recovery community with multiple weekly meetings to allow them to better transition back into mainstream society. Targeting those from Orthodox backgrounds ages 18 to 36, The Living Room has unparalleled success rates as compared to similar national programs, with 82 percent of participants attaining one year of sobriety and 65 percent reaching the five year mark.
In addition to offering social and recreational activities that foster a sense of camaraderie, The Living Room provides follow up support groups, counseling, job placement and vocational training, providing both practical and emotional skills that can help facilitate entry into the job market.
A (501)(c) (3) community organization that works to inform parents and young adults about mental health issues and the dangers of alcohol and substance abuse, the Saving Lives Coalition working with law enforcement agencies, educational professionals , behavioral and healthcare partners and other civic organizations to promote healthy and safe environments for families. A recent partnership with Evolve Treatment Centers gives the Saving Lives Coalition an even wider each, providing cutting edge treatment to teens struggling with addiciton problems and mental health issues. Based in Southern Califonia, the Saving Lives Coalition provides critical prevention programs that are making communities safer for today’s youth and their families.
The world’s largest Jewish organization for addiction prevention and treatment, the Israel-based Retorno offers rehab in a glatt kosher facility with daily minyanim and shiurim, with completely separate programs for men, women and youth. Their intensive therapeutic approach, which is combined with a 12 step program, incorporates holistic treatments including horseback riding therapy, animal assisted therapy, DBT, CBT and Bach remedies, as well as various others.
One of the advantages of doing rehab in Israel is that it’s located far away from a user’s home environment which can be rife with temptation. Retorno’s success rate is between 60 and 70 percent. Under the supervision of Social Services and the Ministry of Health in Israel, Retorno offers programs for army veterans with an emphasis on PTSD as well as a special detox program for girls and women ages 14 to 27. Additionally, Retorno’s prevention programs reach an audience of 30,000 people annually.
Other organizations that are taking part in the Pomegranate Giving Day for Youth include Aish Tamid (Los Angeles), Aliya Center (Crown Heights), Girls Loft (Crown Heights), Aliya Melbourne (Australia), Amudim (Manhattan / Nationwide), Bais Menachem (Wilkes-Barre, PA), BJX (Brooklyn), Project Extreme (Five Towns / Nationwide), Lev Shlomo (Baltimore), Our Place Boys & Our Place Girls (Flatbush), Tekumah & Regesh (Lakewood), Matara (Israel), The Center (Miami) and Torah Youth Center (Cleveland).
Stay tuned at TheYeshivaWorld.com for live coverage, beginning at 2 PM on April 12, 2016.
To visit New York City’s premier Kosher experience or place an online order, visit ThePomPeople.com.
For additional information about the Pomegranate Giving Day for Youth, contact Rabbi Aryeh Young at [email protected]
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