Masa Lekesher

Objectives

1. To impart knowledge and tools to professional women who work with girls and young women at-risk.
2. To provide group and individual counseling to girls and young women at-risk.
3. To promote affordable housing and adapted services for girls and young women at-risk from religious and Haredi backgrounds.

Elements of the Work Process

A. Development and adaptation of services
and support for religious/Haredi girls and young women at- risk in order to help them lead independent lives.

• “Healthy Relationships” Workshop: a series of 10 sessions for young women to prepare them for marriage
• “I’m Busy Developing Myself”: an employment program for girls in situations of risk and distress who reside in therapeutic settings

B. Training for religious/Haredi professional women
who work with girls and young women in situations of risk and distress in collaboration with Yated (the national program for young men and women in risk situations).

• Intensive topic-focused training days
• Topic-focused, in-depth series for small groups

C. Making information accessible to programs and professionals
on topics relevant to girls and young women from religious and Haredi backgrounds who are in situations of risk and distress.

D. Advancement of housing solutions and adapted services
for girls and young women in situations of risk and distress from religious/Haredi backgrounds through participation in relevant professional forums, including the sub-committee of Yated and the Nirot Forum for young men and women in risk situations.

Technical Information

For details, please contact us at: [email protected]

We believe that in-depth training for teams and professionals who work with girls and young women in at-risk situations impacts significantly on their ability to optimize the therapeutic process.

In order to encourage professional training for staff, Yedidut Toronto, in collaboration with the Yated program, runs training days which are tailored to Haredi/religious professionals who work with young women in situations of risk and distress from religious and Haredi backgrounds.

Seminars

To date, we have held the following topic-based seminars:

A. Healthy Relationships

• “Warning signs in a relationship” presented by Eilat Tapiaro, social worker and program director at Yedidut Toront“
• Awareness and self-love” presented by Toby Einhorn, a healthy relationship coacho
• “Building a healthy marital relationship” presented by Rachel Ehrlich, Director of ‘Shechem Echad’ (an organization that supports Haredi victims of abusive relationships)

B. Dealing with the Internet

• “Tools for supporting young women who have been exposed to inappropriate online content”, presented by Etty Heisler, educational consultant and psychodrama therapist
• “Where are the young women on the internet? Tools for coping”, presented by Tamir Leon, practical anthropologist and an expert on youth culture
• “Highlights of the unique struggle of young Haredi women with the online world”, presented by Rachel Ehrlich, Director of Shechem One

C. Eating Disorders

“Eating disorders, how do you eat it?” presented by Prof. Rachel Bachner, a clinical psychologist specializing in eating disorders. Professor Bachner is a lecturer and researcher in the master’s degree program in clinical psychology at the Ruppin Academic Center, a lecturer at the School of Social Work at the Hebrew University, and director of the Koli Center – the Jerusalem Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders.

D. Self-harm

• “Tools for dealing with self-harm”, presented by Dr. Noga Oman, clinical psychologist and coordinator of the DBT Unit, Adolescent Psychiatry, Hadassah Ein Kerem
• “Between self-harm and suicide”, presented by Dr. Ruth Gisser, child and youth psychiatrist and director of the Clinic for Eating Disorders for Children and Youth, Hadassah Ein Kerem

In-depth, Topic-Focused Series for Small Groups

In May 2022, we ran a series on the topic of “vulnerability among young women at-risk from Haredi backgrounds.” The in-depth workshops were attended by 20 professional Haredi women.

To view the syllabus, click here.

More info

For detailed information about the workshop, please contact us by email at: [email protected] or visit the Yedidut Toronto Facebook page.

Background

Getting married and establishing a home at a relatively young age is common practice among young religious and Haredi women. For young women at-risk from Haredi backgrounds, preparing for a healthy, happy marital relationship is essential to their ability to live an independent life and one of the most important tools they must acquire.

The “A Journey to Connection” workshop includes 10 sessions and is built on examining three circles of relationships: the personal circle, the circle of relationships in general, and the circle of marital relationships. The workshop enables the participants to identify the goals and values on which they aspire to build their home, to understand the relationships in their lives, and to acquire tools for a healthy and happy marital relationship.

Target Audience

Young women at-risk from Haredi/religious backgrounds who maintain a Haredi/religious lifestyle.

Workshop Objectives

1. To familiarize participants with their inner world and their femininity
2. To impart the necessary tools for building and maintaining a healthy marital relationship
3. To enable participants to recognize their needs, as well as their spouse’s needs, in the marital relationship
4. To make participants aware of the warning signs of violence in a marital relationship

Technical Information

For more information, please contact the program team at: [email protected]

Background

In the last decade, there has been a growing awareness that employment can be an effective rehabilitative tool for various populations – including for young women at-risk, either because they want to integrate into the workplace or because they are already a part of it. As such, it is practical to use employment as a central therapeutic tool, and even to expand its role in their lives, turning it into a source of self-fulfillment and success while they are in the educational/therapeutic framework. For young women at-risk who are employed, this is essential as their employers and/or colleagues may sense their vulnerability and take advantage of it. It is equally important for those who aren’t employed, as unproductive free time may lead to an exacerbation of their at-risk situation.

Target Audience

Educational/therapeutic frameworks for religious/Haredi girls and young women at-risk.

Elements of the Program

The educational/therapeutic facility in which the program operates appoints an employment coordinator who is responsible for incorporating all the activities of the program and for guiding the participants through the employment process.

Yedidut Toronto provides the following services to the facilities participating in the program:

A. Training and guidance for the employment coordinator and other staff
in the operating of the program. The training is done by an occupational social worker who has experience working with girls from religious/Haredi backgrounds, and it includes:

• Approximately 20 academic hours of guidance for employment coordinators and approximately 8 academic hours of guidance for other staff
• Weekly guidance for the employment coordinator (individual/group as needed)

B. Direct services for at-risk young women

• Group sessions to identify individual skills and interests
• An experiential employment workshop for mothers and daughters
• Individual guidance for participants regarding higher education and training programs. (Including a standardized test)
• Workshops on soft skills to optimize integration in the workplace

Technical information

For detailed information, please contact us at: [email protected].