VIDEOS/PHOTOS: Hundreds Embrace Message Of Acceptance And Awareness At Amudim’s Brooklyn Event

(VIDEOS AND PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

More than 700 people turned out on Monday, May 1 st for an event that was aimed at tackling the problems of addiction and abuse within the Orthodox Jewish community by raising awareness and removing the stigma that is typically associated with these types of trauma.

The event was hosted by Amudim in conjunction with OHEL, the SAFE Foundation, Our Place, United Task Force, the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition and Relief Resources. In addition to the hundreds who packed Brooklyn’s Ateres Chynka to learn more about the unprecedented threats facing the Jewish community, thousands more participated through an online live stream.

Rabbi Zvi Gluck, founder and director of Amudim, opened the event, describing it as the first step towards bringing acceptance and support to those in crisis. He noted that all too often, those in pain don’t get the help they need because they are concerned it might affect their business, their social standing or prevent their children from getting good shidduchim.

“Too many times we’ve had people literally choose death over life because they were too scared to get help,” said Gluck.

Amudim’s rabbinical advisor and Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva Rav Elya Brudny echoed those words, stressing the absurdity of not seeking counseling because of worries of shame or stigma.

“People talk,” said Rabbi Brudny. “That can’t guide us in life and death decisions.”

Rabbi Brudny spoke passionately about the importance of making a difference, even in small ways. Many of those who suffer from alcohol addiction began drinking as children, observed Rabbi Brudny, and he urged listeners to prevent minors from consuming alcohol at simchos, a direct violation of New York State law which can lead to a lifetime of compulsion.

In an effort to create greater compassion and tolerance for those in crisis, Amudim’s clinical supervisor Dr. Akiva Perlman took listeners into the world of addiction by painting a vivid picture of the pain, shame and darkness that they face on a daily basis. Those in Boro Park and Flatbush have been especially challenged because until now there has been no local support for area residents who are living with trauma, explained Dr. Perlman.

“They literally had no one to turn to,” said Dr. Perlman. “We have to continue to build and build and build so that there is no one who is alone and people don’t have to live in secrecy and in shame when they are dealing with these issues.”

OHEL’s Dr. Norman Blumenthal discussed the importance of acknowledging the presence of mental illness in our community and being proactive about seeking help for issues early on before they mushroom into full blown crises. He was followed by a training session demonstrating the use of Naloxone, a life saving drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and is available free of charge statewide at authorized distribution centers.

The event was both sobering and inspiring, observed Dr. Blumenthal.

“The need for hundreds of community members to learn about addiction reflects the encroachment of these destructive trends in our world,” said Dr. Blumenthal. “ On the other hand, the willingness of hundreds to face the reality of addiction and the collective need to combat it gives us cause for great hope and optimism.”

The idea that those who have experienced trauma have the ability to put the past behind them was the key theme addressed by a surprise guest speaker who identified himself only as Ike. A Brooklyn resident who spoke openly and emotionally about how addiction destroyed both his marriage and his business, Ike credited The Safe Foundation and its founder and director Ike Dweck for saving his life after multiple failed stints in rehab. Now recovered, remarried and celebrating several years of drug free life, Ike said he continues to attend regular support meetings and hopes to pay it forward by helping others who are in recovery, encouraging others to do the same.

Ike admitted that seeing the hundreds of people who came to Ateres Chynka to learn more about abuse and addiction was extremely uplifting and he hopes that it is a sign that the Jewish community is finally ready to face these problems and embrace those who are struggling.

“I am for the first time proud to say that I’m a Jew, seeing all these people standing here and accepting that these issues are real,” said Ike.

Chesky Stern, a driving force behind the event, said that as a long time member of the chevra kadisha in Brooklyn, he has seen too many nonchalant reactions to the plague of deaths that has swept through the Jewish community. People seem too comfortable with the status quo observed Stern, a situation that clearly comes from a lack of awareness and he called the event the first step in a positive direction.

“If we take a second step and a third one, we may not be able to conquer the problem completely but maybe, maybe we can make some inroads,” said Stern. “There is no way to know how far we are going to get, but it is our obligation to keep trying.”

“There is so much that we need to learn as a community that this is just the tip of the iceberg,” added Ike Dweck. “In today’s world we have to be armed with as much information as possible. This event gets us started in that process.”

Those who are in the trenches have noted that events such as this, Amudim’s 18 th since its inception, produce real results that can often save lives.

“How do we know?” asked OHEL CEO David Mandel. “We know by the line that forms to speak to the presenters after the program and by the number of calls we at OHEL, Amudim and others receive the next day.”

Amudim welcomes the opportunity to partner with other organizations and individuals to bring the message of awareness and acceptance to other communities nationwide.

“We need to remember that when we are able to bring even one person back from the brink of destruction, the effects are far greater than most people realize,” said Gluck. “All too often we have mourned the death of an individual who died of an overdose, but it isn’t just one life that has been lost. Their future generations will never be born and the lives of their friends and family members are irreparably shattered. By helping just one person, entire worlds can be built and by working together we can facilitate change that will have positive and life saving effects that are far beyond anything we can ever imagine.”

To find out more about Amudim or to plan event in your community visit them online at www.amudim.org or call them at 646-517- 0222.

Zvi Gluck and Josh Mehlman