The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), the largest funder of social services in Israel after the government, has recently announced a generous contribution of $150,000 to the first Teenage Girls’ Crisis Center in Israel, located at the Neve Michael Children’s Village in Pardes Hana. It serves girls at risk from ages 13 to 18 nationwide, from all religious backgrounds, who have experienced childhood traumas stemming from various adverse social conditions, including poverty, family dysfunction, violence in the home, and parents who suffer from drug abuse and alcohol addiction.

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of IFCJ, has provided this gift through The Fellowship’s Guardians of Israel program, which provides food, clothing, shelter, housing, and other urgent needs for all Israelis, including children and the elderly, who are suffering from the effects of poverty, terrorism, and war.
“When I was approached by Neve Michael to be a partner in the first Teenage Girls’ Crisis Center in Israel, I immediately agreed.” Rabbi Eckstein said. “For years The Fellowship has been involved in supporting poor children in Israel and beyond, and I'm proud to contribute to this center that provides teenagers in Israel with vital assistance, care and compassion.”

The Crisis Center is located at the Neve Michael Children’s Village, and operated under the auspices of Emunah, the National Religious Women’s Organization. The Village contains the only multidisciplinary children’s home in Israel, which provides refuge and a loving home for over 250 children and youth at risk. It also has a 24-hour Emergency Crisis Center, an Elementary School on the premises, Day Care facilities that also serve disadvantaged children in the area, a Therapy Enrichment Center tailored to meet the individual needs of the children, and an External Crisis Center and Therapy Counseling Unit which seek to keep families in crisis intact.

The Center is the only ray of hope for girls who, like Revital, 15, who have suffered heartbreaking abuse and trauma. Revital was brought to the Teenage Girls’ Crisis Center by a police officer and a social worker in October 2009, after she was discovered prostituting herself in the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Working with Revital, the Center’s staff discovered that she had endured sexual abuse by a family member from the time that she was five years old. Today, because of the loving care provided at the Center, Revital no longer has to face life’s challenges alone.

Hana Slutzki, Chief Welfare Officer in Israel, states, "I know what is happening to teenage girls that are not being taken out of their home--more cases of suicide, drug abuse, prostitution, and many young girls ending up in jail.” Israel’s Welfare department acknowledges the tremendous value of the work of the Center, and not only refers children at risk to the care of the Center, but has pledged funding for the first two years of operation.

The Teenage Girls’ Crisis Center is housed in a building that has been completely renovated and refurbished through the kind generosity of Keren Hayesod of Sweden and Emunah Canada. Thanks to the many partners in this project, especially The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and Keren Hayesod, Revital and many other girls in crisis can now look forward to a safer, healthier, and brighter future.