History of Crossroads

In early 2000, social worker and ola chadasha (new immigrant) Caryn Green began seriously discussing the need for and possibility of opening a drop-in center for troubled English-speaking teens. The dialogue, which continued for roughly a year, was held between Green and a group of relevant, if disparate, organizations: the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee; Ashalim Planning and Development of Services for Children at Risk and their Families; the Department of Culture and Department of Youth of the Ministry of Education; the Devorah Foundation; the Division for the Advancement of Youth and the Adolescent Unit of the Jerusalem Municipality; the Division for Youth and Adults in Distress and the Division for Correctional Services of the Ministry of Social Affairs; ELEM Youth in Distress in Israel; the Jewish Agency For Israel; and Keshet.

In late 2000, the Jewish Agency leased to Green the offices that today comprise the Crossroads Center. Renovations were then made to the Center space at the same time as on-the-streets outreach began, so that when Crossroads officially opened on 1 January 2001, a group of needy teens was waiting to come in.

Crossroads opened during the second intifada (literally, shaking off; the Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s). The number of terrorist attacks in downtown Jerusalem was at its peak. Center staff immediately went to work dealing with survivors of and witnesses to suicide bombings.

As its reputation has grown, the Center has seen the number of teens who drop by daily increase from a maximum of 10 to between 15 and 60. We have succeeded in expanding and improving the services we offer clients, and continue charting the progress made by our teens.

Caryn Green, M.S.W., was born and raised in Tyler, Texas. She received her BA at The University of Texas and her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University in New York. Caryn moved to Israel in 1996 and began work with mentally ill young adults at Machon Summit. The following year she joined the professional staff of the children’s ward of Eitanim Psychiatric Hospital in Jerusalem. Along with her duties at the hospital, Caryn began working with youth at risk on the streets of Jerusalem. Caryn founded Crossroads in 2000 and has worked with English-speaking Israeli youth for over fourteen years. Caryn stepped down as director in April 2010, and remains as an active member of the Crossroads board.