Dear Friends,
Behind the doors of EMUNAH’s Teenage Girls Emergency Crisis Shelter are young girls who have already endured more pain than most adults face in a lifetime.
They are girls who have experienced sexual assault along with extensive physical and mental abuse, drug addiction, self-mutilation and prostitution. They arrive bearing visible and invisible scars and suffer from intense anxiety, fear and deep shame. All of them come to EMUNAH praying for relief and healing.
● Revital*, a 15-year-old girl arrived at the doorsteps of the Teen Shelter accompanied by a police officer and a social worker after being picked up from the streets of Jerusalem where, in order to survive, she was prostituting herself, mostly in Arab neighborhoods.
● 3 sisters, Ada, Sari and Noa* came to the Shelter after being rescued from a cult. The cult leader, currently in prison, had 7 wives and dozens of children. These children suffered from sexual abuse, electric shocks, starvation and more …
● 12-year-old Meira* came to the Shelter after being kicked out of her home for getting pregnant. She needed guidance and love, not condemnation.
The EMUNAH Teenage Girl’s Emergency Shelter, the only one of its kind in Israel, was designed specifically to meet the needs of these adolescent girls as young as 12 years old. The girls are brought to the Emergency Shelter either by the police, social services and/or court order.
The Shelter, located on the campus of the EMUNAH Neve Michael Children’s Home, provides a safe haven and therapeutic healing environment for 15 girls at a time, and up to 50 annually. Upon arrival, each girl undergoes an extensive psychological and physical evaluation and is assigned to an individual counselor and psychotherapy team. The average stay is six months after which, a more long-term solution is secured in conjunction with the Ministry of Welfare and Child Protection.
The professional staff of 30 is a team of specialized social workers, psychologists, teachers and counselors, ensuring that each girl receives the highest caliber of treatment, care and love to help begin her journey back to healing, recovery and stability.
It costs an average of 70,000 Shekels (approximately $21,875) a month to care for a single girl. This barely covers the basics: a room, food, clothes (most girls arrive only with the clothes they are wearing), hygienic needs, medicine and therapy (individual and group), medical expenses, academic tutors and supplemental programs and activities. The Ministry of Welfare and Social Services currently pays approximately 17,000 ($5,312) Shekels per girl, leaving a huge deficit of more than 53,000 ($16,562) Shekels per teen, monthly!
To ensure that the Shelter remains open and operational, we are asking YOU, our EMUNAH Family, to open your hearts to these young ladies by supporting the only Emergency Girls Teen Shelter in Israel.
Your gift today will directly support:
● Safe housing and shelter for abused and at-risk teen girls
● Trauma-informed counseling and emotional therapy
● Crisis intervention for girls in immediate distress
● A nurturing and loving environment that restores dignity, healing and hope
You have the power to make a difference. Will you?
Your friendship and support mean so much to the daughters of Israel. Thank you! ❤️
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
