Parents of children with special needs are often thrust into an unfamiliar world. An avalanche of new financial, medical, educational and emotional concerns must be tended to. Trying to navigate that new world on one’s own can be overwhelming. It’s a daunting task and lonely journey.

Just three years ago, Yahalom opened its doors in New Jersey, to be met with a tremendous amount of success and positive response that spurred six other Agudah offices around the country to open their own branches of Yahalom – most recently, Agudath Israel of Ohio.

Each branch of Yahalom is here to assist the parents in their community obtain the appropriate resources by guiding, educating, and empowering parents to ensure they have the help and support they need and to reassure them that they are not alone. Under the leadership of Mrs. Chana Barrett, YahalomOH will do the same.

Mrs. Barrett has over a decade of experience as an occupational therapist in numerous settings and as the director of Gesher, granting her the unique perspective as a member of the Jewish community with a first-hand knowledge of the resources available for children with special needs, the agencies that provide them, and the laws governing them.

“When two local parents reached out and asked for a Yahalom office, we realized that Ohio is now ready for such a resource,” said Mrs. Barrett. “I look forward to being able to serve the community in this new way.”

“Agudath Israel of Ohio is proud to meet the needs of the community in every area, and we anticipate that our Yahalom will better enable us to reach this goal,” said Rabbi Yitz Frank, director of Agudath Israel of Ohio. “We are here to support the families who reach out to us and lighten their burden in any way we can.”

To contact Mrs. Barrett at YahalomOH, email [email protected] or call 216.455.1111 ext 1.