“The constant tension is affecting the teens badly. There are a lot of sleepless nights, difficulties, sometimes a feeling that they are responsible for their family members. They are fatigued, and don’t see this situation coming to an end or how it could. We are doing our best to be there as much as we can.”
Sharon, Tzfat Outreach Coordinator
ELEM’s seventeen programs in the North – often the only support to kids, teens, and young adults at risk – are operating under fire. Our staff continues to heroically provide emotional and psychological support, ensuring youth have a consistent space to turn to in the midst of uncertainty.
As the conflict in the north forces evacuations, ELEM is on the ground, moving in real time with these youth. In Tveria, ELEM has established five “Breathing Spaces” for over 500 evacuated teens from Kiryat Shmona and surrounding communities. These spaces, open nightly, offer a calm and stable environment for teens to find refuge. ELEM also implemented a new Shluk program in a newly established school for evacuees, offering essential support as these students adjust to the ongoing instability.
During escalated missile attacks, all of ELEM’s programs in the north quickly pivot to remote support, fielding hundreds of chat requests from children, teens, and young adults via Instagram, WhatsApp, and TikTok, in both Hebrew and Arabic. Yet, not all our programs can serve youth online despite our innovative, extensive digital network.
ELEM’s HaLev homeless shelter in Haifa, continue to operate in person, providing 24/7 care to those who are homeless, abused, or exploited. These programs need additional support to ensure the safety of both staff and youth, particularly through the construction of a much-needed bomb shelter.
Your donation today will directly help us maintain these vital programs and protect Israel’s most vulnerable youth during this crisis. Help us make a difference: support ELEM’s emergency needs in the north today.
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ELEM/YOUTH IN DISTRESS IN ISRAEL
121 West 36th Street, Suite 329
New York, NY 10018
Please call our office 212.787.3337 to donate:
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Donors whose gifts are $1,000 or more, may choose to target their gifts to a specific ELEM area of focus. Call us for more information.
Today, your gift to ELEM/Youth in Distress in Israel is of critical importance to the youth we serve. They face tremendous challenges, such as domestic violence, substance abuse, neglect, bullying, homelessness and prostitution.
ELEM works with native-born secular and religious Jews; Christian and Muslim Arabs including Bedouins; immigrants, including those from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia; and the LGBT community. Many live on the streets and most will not seek help from traditional social service groups.
ELEM’s 280 professionals and over 1,700 volunteers don’t wait for referrals to treat these struggling youth, but seek them out on their turf — on the streets, in schools, on the Internet and at bars and nightclubs. Our 78 programs in 43 cities provide counseling, mentoring, vocational training and a safe space for Israeli youth to envision a positive future for themselves and become productive members of Israeli society.
