PRESS RELEASE: ISRAELI SOCIAL SERVICES GROUP RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT ON YOUTH

07. April 2013 · Comments Off · Categories: Drugs, Erim Balayla, Ethipian, In the news, Israel, Media Advisory, Press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ISRAELI SOCIAL SERVICES GROUP RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT ON YOUTH

– Thirty Percent of Teens Have Abused Designer Drugs–

– Ethiopian Immigrant Youth Face Discrimination –

Jerusalem / New York, NY, April 4, 2013 – ELEM – Youth in Distress in Israel, Israel’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to the treatment and rehabilitation of abused, neglected, and adjudicated Jewish and Arab Israeli youth, has presented its annual report to President Shimon Peres.  It contains information on the status of adolescents served by ELEM during the past year.  In 2012, the organization made contact with more than 20,000 at-risk youngsters who were affected by sexual abuse, prostitution, drug abuse, emotional abuse and discrimination.

Key findings of the report include a 10 percent increase in drug abuse among youth aged 12-18 (including hard drugs, designer drugs, and soft drugs such as marijuana and hashish) bringing the number of abusers to 30 percent of all teens. In addition, there has been an alarming 10 percent increase in the number of youth who use these drugs on a regular basis.

The report also reveals a 70 percent increase in the number of at-risk youth from Ethiopia served by ELEM in 2012.  Seventy-three percent of this group reported that they encountered racism, 33 percent claimed discrimination by school faculty, and 33 percent felt ostracized by peers from other ethnic groups.

Commenting on the report, Lenore Ruben, president of ELEM/US, said, “The report shows the effects of the severe stress that all Israeli youth face.  It also reveals a very disturbing progression regarding the situation of Ethiopian adolescents.  Our social service professionals continue to work with our Israeli counterparts to provide support in the realm of advocacy and mentorship to help reverse this trend.”  Efrat Shafrut, ELEM/Israel’s executive director, said, “The phenomenon of abusing drugs has been growing, and we are now faced with a national calamity.”

Drug Abuse Epidemic

Data collected from ELEM’s youth projects throughout the country shows that abuse of designer drugs, including a legal hallucinogen known as “Mr. Nice Guy,” has become common among teenagers from all walks of life.  This is due to the ease with which the drugs can be purchased and their relatively low price.

Although legal and perceived as “soft” drugs, these products present severe health risks.  In the past year, ELEM staff helped more than 10 individuals seek emergency medical attention following the use of these drugs. Some were in life-threatening critical condition.

Shafrut emphasized the seriousness of designer drug abuse.  “Unlike other drugs, these drugs make users more aggressive and violent, and this year we encountered cases of severe violence among youth who were under their influence.  Another problem we face is youth injecting “Hagigat,” which is a hallucinogen and a cheap substitute for hard drugs. This drug can cause severe psychiatric reactions, infections and illnesses.”

Drastic Increase in Number of Ethiopian Youth at Risk

The report shows that in 2012 there was a 70 percent increase in the number of Ethiopian youth who sought aid from ELEM. In total, 1,697 youngsters from the Ethiopian community received aid. This figure indicates the severe distress experienced by the Ethiopian youth, stemming from social and economic hardships, the inter-generational gap, the difficulty of integrating in educational settings, racism, and social exclusion by Israeli society.

Nava Barak, president of ELEM/Israel, commented, “During the past year we encountered manifestations of severe violence among Ethiopian youth, including the death of a boy a few weeks ago. Clubs and places of entertainment in big cities sometimes refuse to admit Ethiopian youth. These youngsters are frustrated and resentful and find for themselves alternative recreational places that have a high concentration of members of their community. Anger and frustration, combined with drug and alcohol abuse, create a ticking time bomb, as evidenced by mounting violence. As a social service organization, our duty is to sound an alarm against these manifestations of discrimination and racism.”

There is a close tie between ELEM and the U.S., as the organization was founded in 1982 by a group of American and Israeli social service professionals and lay volunteers to help Israel’s population of at-risk youth become productive citizens. The youth ELEM serves face tremendous hurdles, and many live below the poverty line or struggle to assimilate as new immigrants. Social service professionals from both counties will collaborate to address the issues in the 2012 report.

About ELEM

ELEM’s network of 250 professionals, almost 2,000 volunteers and 40 programs reaches tens of thousands of youth annually with innovative and comprehensive services, including therapy, mentoring, occupational and educational placement, and vocational training. ELEM also operates a wide network of counseling and support centers, as well as a fleet of outreach vans that take to the streets to reach the hidden “children of the night.”

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Contacts:

Lori Gosset

lorimichelle6837@gmail.com

(917)860.7637

Mitchell Slepian

olaf93@earthlink.net

(718)984.0817

MORE THAN WORDS! – Sharp Residence – Chelsea, NYC

11. March 2013 · Comments Off · Categories: Artists, Community Dinner, ELEM, ELEM-Entry NY, ELEM-Entry NY Activists, Erim Balayla, Events, Israel, Musicians, Prostitution, Volunteers

Special performance by Super N!RO & Khaled Dajani of “One Passion – The Project“:

Hochberg Residence – Closter, NJ / Shira & Guy Bar-On, Tamar & Elad Raz

11. March 2013 · Comments Off · Categories: Community Dinner, ELEM, ELEM-Entry NY, ELEM-Entry NY Activists, Erim Balayla, Events, Israel, Musicians, Prostitution, Volunteers

The dinner was held at the Hochberg  residence, Closter New Jersey. There were 11 Guest and 5 volunteers (including Stas Fridman the best piano player ever) the evening started with a reception cocktail party accompanied with Capirinha from the bar, Stuffed mushrooms and salmon Teriyaki.
To complete the ambiance – Stas  played a powerful classic symphony on an amazing mahogany piano. After half an hour of great music and atmosphere Shira of ELEM-Entry formally started the evening with a short introduction of the cause and an explanation on the upcoming evening. Following the guests moved to the dinner table , Guy Bar-On was on top of the culinary part that included branzino fillet with pickled lemon laid on wild rice and green beans accompanied with spinach salad with strawberries and avocado.
ELEM activists joined the dinner table and explained in detail about the organization and the different programs.
After the main course and before the deserts the party shifted to the living room for the ELEM Awake At Night movie followed by a discussion about the program and the uses of the evening donations.
for the evenings finale, Stas played another piano master piece, and delicious deserts including kaddaif cups filled with wild berries, homemade chocolate truffles and authentic Mahamuls were brought to the table.
In conclusion the Hochberg residence collected $2300 and experienced a great evening.

Shira & Guy Bar-On, Tamar & Elad Raz

Nissan Residence in Tenafly, NJ/ Maoz Lev

11. March 2013 · Comments Off · Categories: Community Dinner, ELEM, ELEM-Entry NY, ELEM-Entry NY Activists, Erim Balayla, Events, Israel, Musicians, Prostitution, Volunteers

Tenafly New Jersey is a quite little town situated to the North West of Manhattan just North of the remarkable double decked George Washington Bridge. On a snowy night in Early March 2013, 17 Israelis gathered at the beautiful home of Dorit and Daniel (Danny) Nissan. The very unique Israeli community that grew by leaps and bounds in the Tenafly area includes many Israelis in the hi-tech industry as well as medical, diamond, real estate, financial professionals and more. The Nissans were able to gather a sizeable group of young couples who came to a special evening to support ELEM-Entry New York. What made this event even more special is that a number of other homes in the NY area hosted at the exact same time similar events. The venue included a wonderful gourmet home cooked meal, a lecture and a movie about ELEM’s “Awake at Night” program to alleviate Israeli child prostitution problem.

The hosts opened their beautiful home and prepared a remarkable dinner.
Danny was attending to the grill in the back yard in the middle of an unexpected snowy night. While looking at Danny in between the large falling snow flakes, Nirel and Maoz assisted Dorit the host in preparing the condiments and appetizers and setting the screening room. At the same time Maia Karo, a beautiful and talented young singer, and Daniel Meron, a remarkable pianist, who also volunteered, were practicing the songs that they will perform for the guests later.

The guests arrived and we all sat in the living room to enjoy some of Dorits’ “Nishnushim”. We provided a short presentation about ELEM and its operations. As always with Israelis the guests wanted to know more and the intense discussion and inquisitive questions were already in full swing. The volunteers had to slow down the momentum and suggested to continue after dinner. Eating seemed to have appealed to the inquisitive crowd and we all shifted to sit down in the beautiful dining room.

Following the meal we all moved to a back room that the hosts pre-arranged. The atmosphere was very cozy as the two performers Maia and Daniel started playing and singing. We paused to allow the discussion about ELEM “Awake at Night” continue. We then watched a movie about the program and continued with some statistics that sparked more questions. The crowd was very concerned and was wondering about the successes of the program and the need to establish continued and permanent government support.

Following the discussion guests provided donations and the evening continued with more of Daniel and Maia’s song performance. Meanwhile Dorit was hard working and prepared some amazing deserts. Dorit is an interior designer and that aspect was evident not just in the home and the set up of the dinner table but also in the remarkable food that she and Danny served.

The evening was a remarkable success. The concern of the guests to the problem touched our hearts.

Thank you Dorit and Danny for opening your home to ELEM “Awake at Night”, for your hospitality for arranging such a great crowd and for your exceptional generosity. Thank you to all the guests that came and donated and interacted to make this evening a remarkable success both in terms of raising awareness and in terms of donating to this worthy cause.

Thank you Maia, Daniel, Nirel and Maoz for your time, dedication and talent.

Chic in service of life saving/ Nitzan Levy

10. March 2013 · Comments Off · Categories: Community Dinner, ELEM, ELEM-Entry NY, ELEM-Entry NY Activists, Erim Balayla, Events, Israel, Prostitution, Volunteers

ELEM-Entry NY’s Community Dinner at Lia Kes’ chic residence in the Upper West Side felt more than anything else THE HOTTEST PLACE to be on the night of March 2nd, 2013. In spite of snowy weather, there was a constant traffic of people throughout the evening: beautiful, talented and interesting individuals, friends of the host and friends of friends, who gathered around to hear about ELEM’s mission.

Lia Kes, a New York acclaimed fashion designer born in Kibbutz Afikim, Israel, has decided to dedicate her giving to young Israeli women who were subjected to abuse of any kind. We first met almost two years ago. Lia was a guest at another community dinner I ran. Throughout the evening Lia asked me many questions about ELEM, its programs, and most specifically about supporting young women. At the end of the evening Lia expressed her wish to become more involved with ELEM and offered to host a community dinner at her house. Our choice to dedicate the proceeds from this dinner to Awake At Night (Erim Balayla) – a program that deals with youth in prostitution had made the host deeply moved. At Lia’s request, the proceeds from her Community Dinner shall be dedicated to the program in Eilat that is dealing mostly with young women who are working as prostitutes in Israel’s southern touristic city.

Lia’s crowd was comprised of guests who came from out the city. They journeyed from Florida, California, Connecticut, North Carolina and New Jersey and are from different country origins American, Israeli, British, Russian and French. They work in a variety of occupations such as investment bankers, visual artists, fashion and jewelry designers, musicians, lawyers, art collectors, film makers, architects, interior designers, real-estate brokers, scientists and entrepreneurs. Our presentation of Awake At Night drew almost each and every one of them to us, the ELEM-Entry NY team Itzik Zur, Lior Brimberg and myself .-They asked questions about the program, expressed their interest in becoming involved and donating their art or professional skills to the cause.

The presentation was followed by a mesmerizing performance of the Israeli song “Confession” (“Viduy” – by Alexander Penn and Sasha Argov) by the graceful jazz vocalist Mor Ben-Yakir,accompanied by pianist Gadi Stern.

On a personal note: To me it’s such events that are encompassing the ELEM-Entry NY mission: to reach out to a broad audience of people, most specifically young professionals and to engage them with our cause of providing ELEM the financial means to treat youth in distress in Israel. That’s what it’s all about!

Nitzan Levy

Chairwoman of ELEM-Entry NY, Young Professionals for Youth in Distress in Israel

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