…Immigrant children (including those born in Israel to parents who moved here) are often more prone to delinquency, dropping out of school, and require a higher percentage of social services, said Yitzchak Kadman, chairman of the National Council for the Child.
Robbie Sassoon, executive director of Crossroads, a nonprofit that supports Anglo immigrants at risk, said the Anglo immigrant community is not immune from these challenges.

Outreach center finds and helps at-risk, English-speaking teens in Jerusalem

The Crossroads Center in Jerusalem was founded 10 years ago to help English speaking young people with trouble adapting to life in Israel. As breathtakingly beautiful as Jerusalem is, there are troubles below its surface for youngsters, especially for disaffected native English speakers who are not yet comfortable with the language and culture of Israel. Many of these English-speaking teens “are Israeli citizens, new
immigrants themselves, or the children of English-speaking immigrants.
Others come as tourists or students for the year, and have had their Israel experience turn into a nightmare,” explains social worker Caryn Green, founder of Crossroads. “Language and cultural barriers prevent them from accessing state-funded social services. Our teens need the help of professionals who understand their distress.”

As “Bob,” 19, put it: “When I was 16, I was living on the streets of Jerusalem. One day a social worker from Crossroads came up to me in the street and introduced herself. I started sessions. … She helped me get off alcohol and drugs and straighten out my life. She also helped me get my high school diploma. I owe Crossroads my
life.”

“I founded Crossroads to help a population not being served,” said Green at The Crossroads Center on Hachavetzelet Street in downtown Jerusalem, across from Zion Square. Many of the youngsters living on the streets of Jerusalem in crisis are “kids who don’t trust the system, don’t want to ask for help.” Some, said Green, left their families in Israel, some have been sent to Israel by their families in other nations with the hope that “magically things will get better if they changed place.” Some are young people “who at 18 or 19 make aliyah on their own” and then find it “difficult to survive,” said Green, herself originally from the U.S. To help these young people, ages 13 to 21, Crossroads’ social workers “do outreach” on the streets of Jerusalem each night “looking for teens at-risk that might not ask for help but desperately need someone to care. We form one-on-one relationships with these teens,” encouraging them to come to the center, “offering the specific services they need to help get back on track.” Whether the problems are alcohol, drugs, street violence, reuniting with estranged parents or getting back into high school, Crossroads seeks to help. “We provide,” as the organization’s brochure states, “services for an extremely vulnerable segment of the Israeli population.

These teens are not easy to reach and are alienated from Israeli society. Crossroads provides an alternative to being on the streets with social activities other than hanging out in bars, providing immediate aid if necessary and offering the services they need.” These include: A “drop-in center” for youth in distress; a social club that is a “safe alternative to the streets”; counseling and rehabilitation therapy; crisis intervention; enrichment activities — “from Internet access to music to photography”; and education, including courses and tutoring so youngsters can earn high school diplomas and prepare for college entrance exams. And there’s an employment center that features “comprehensive employment search and career assistance services” and a resource center providing “information on social services and educational opportunities, abuse prevention, drug treatment and more.” Older teens can even take online college courses on the computers at the center. The program touches the lives of more than 1,000 at-risk teens each year through outreach and word of mouth. The Crossroads Center occupies the second floor of a somewhat dingy building, but the feeling inside at Crossroads is one of safety, caring, respect and hope.

You can see it in the faces of the young people who seem glad to be there, glad to be with each other, glad to be able to trust the staff not to push them, glad to be listened to by friendly adults. The walls in every room are filled with current flyers, posters and even handwritten notes offering activities that might be of interest. The young people know they have many opportunities to make better lives for themselves, but the choice is up to them. It’s clear that the center provides hope, motivation, tools and direction to a better future. But when we visited, a year ago, the TV and stereo were broken and there was no money to fix or replace them. After an initial grant that enabled the Center to start up, it has been operating on a shoestring budget. Funding has been a major challenge.

Last year, Robbie Sassoon became the director of Crossroads; Green remains a member of the board. An Orthodox rabbi from the U.S. who holds a social work degree from Yeshiva University, Sassoon’s first and continuing objective has been to keep Crossroads strong. “Becoming director of Crossroads has been totally thrilling,” Sassoon says. “The work in the streets and in our center is constantly filled with potential, the potential to grow, connect and to change one’s life around. The most wonderful part has been the opportunity to meet and connect with the kids that frequent our center. To realize that these kids are sweet, creative, fun and truly interested in succeeding despite obstacles has been completely inspiring. “The staff, the programs, the center and the outreach on the streets are at the heart of what we do and I am determined to make sure it continues,” he states. The Crossroads Center is the sole intervention program in Jerusalem for at risk English speaking teens. Haaretz.com has just reported that in the future Sassoon “envisions sending staffers or opening small satellite branches in (other Israeli) cities with large Anglo communities.”

Karl Grossman is professor of
journalism at the State University of
New York/College at Old Westbury.
Janet Grossman, a retired teacher,
is a member of the board of directors
of Temple Adas Israel in Sag
Harbor.

To get the Crossroads 2011 Campaign started, Keren L’Yedidut has also approved $25,000 in matching funds for donations made to support Crossroads. Donations from new donors to Crossroads up to the amount of $25,000 will be matched with funds from Keren L’Yedidut. Click here now to participate in the fund-raising challenge initiative. Crossroads will receive your donation AND the matching amount from Keren L’Yedidut. We ask all our friends to spread the word in order to meet this challenge goal of raising $25,000 from new supporters.
HERE
Keren L’Yedidut, The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews was founded in 1983 by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein to promote understanding between Jews and Christians and build broad support for Israel and other shared concerns.