David

“David” (not his real name) suffered from drug addiction and had not been successful in a regular educational system, falling through the cracks, failing to graduate high school, not even learning to read properly. When he arrived at our doors, brought by a caring friend, David’s dreams for a positive future seemed distant and unattainable. His living situation was at a yeshiva specializing in troubled youth with difficulties and his outlook was not bright.

Over the next three years, Crossroads became the place for David to come and receive help and support, without feeling judgment or shame. He struggled with learning basic and remedial subjects and with the help of our tutors and staff each week slowly made progress. Beginning at the age of 18, reading was the obstacle that he had to overcome in his first year at Crossroads. It was difficult to participate fully in the courses without that crucial skill. And while he did not pass that first year, he came back again the second year, to the place where he felt comfortable continuing to work towards his goal. He had to learn the basics from scratch, and he began to focus on learning the 6 different required subjects.

As he was pursuing academic goals, David also began working with a Crossroads social worker who helped him navigate the process of becoming an Israeli citizen, get his teudat zehut, deal with issues regarding army service, and eventually move to a regular yeshiva. Throughout all this he worked on successfully completing the GED course and preparing to take the exam.

During his third year, David studied with the GED coordinator at Crossroads and prepared with practice tests and weekly study groups. He was now 21, and with our help he was given a partial scholarship to sit for the GED exam after three long years of preparation and hard work. We at Crossroads are very pleased to celebrate his success, he passed! Now his future looks so much more promising, he is discussing his options of entering college and can look towards the future…one that he worked hard to accomplish and that he will appreciate all the more for it.