“It was only when I started going to Gan that I understood it’s not like that by other
kids. Their fathers drive them to Gan and drop them off with smiles and kisses. From
my father, all I knew was anger and threats. The first time I came to school with signs
of abuse, I was very ashamed. I didn’t want to go out for recess. With time, I learned
to cover up the marks with made-up stories.
From fourth grade, I started declining in my schoolwork. I had the worst grades in the
class. I looked for a place where people would value me and I’d be significant. I
became friendly with the neighborhood street youths. The school principal spoke with
me, but all efforts to keep me in school failed. In ninth grade, I was already on the
street all the time. Together with the “gang,” I’d circulate, bored and looking for
occupation. At age 16, my best friend started working as a messenger for a drug
dealer. A short while later, I got an offer to work in even more dubious places….
I knew that I really didn’t want to “work.” I knew there was no chance I’d sell my body.
But the “agent” who found me put on the pressure and started sending me threats
every few days.
Then, one day, by chance, I met a childhood friend. She got me to talk about my
situation. I cried. She immediately contacted her older sister. It turned out that her
sister was a counselor in the amazing organization, “Being There for Them.” Within
an hour, a car from the organization picked me up from the street and brought me
straight to their Center. In one moment, I got what I hadn’t had all my life: a warm,
loving home, support, and guidance.
At “Being There for Them,” I underwent the rehabilitation I needed to set off on a
normal life. Half a year ago, I got a vocational certificate. Today I’m 21 years old,
working and supporting myself. I’ll never forget who were the ones who brought me
to where I am today and who helped transform me within a few beautiful years from a
forsaken street urchin to a happy, fulfilled young woman.
Today, I ask of you just one thing:
To identify with “Being There for Them.”
Being there for someone who has no place else.
What does a girl do when she has no place to go?
Hundreds of girls are thrown out of their homes every year, and Social Services
doesn’t have the means to deal with all of them.
“How can you tell a girl, ‘I don’t have room for you’ and let her sleep on the street?”
The “Being There for Them” organization, under the direction of a couple, both of
them educators, provides these girls with housing and emotional support, along with
a mother figure, counselors, and educational activities.
What’s it like being homeless?
Tamar has been a counselor in the place for the last two years and we chose to hear
from her what goes on every day at “Being There for Them.” “Not many people are
aware of the full significance of being homeless,” she tells us. “We host girls who
have nowhere else to be. You have to understand it… When I go home for Shabbos
or my mother calls me, I know that someone cares about me. These girls don’t
necessarily have that. It’s unreal that there are girls this age who need to sleep in the
street!”
During the time she’s been working here, Shira has been exposed to young girls who
come to live in the place and rehabilitate. “If someone is living here, I know she has a
difficult background story. I never ask about it directly, but they open up and tell me
when they feel ready. Each girl here is an entire world and they’re also very
sensitive.”
If I were to come to this place in any other situation, I would think it’s the ideal place
to live. They seem to have everything you could ask for: Comfortable, furnished
apartments, social activities and enrichment, and a homey, friendly atmosphere. But
the moment you learn a little about their background and about the story of the place,
you understand that this is no ordinary apartment.
The “To Be and to Succeed” NPO was established 4 years ago in order to help
young girls coming from a complex background to get back on track. The counselors
are there for them, fully on-call, on an everyday basis, and Esther, the founder,
serves as the girls’ surrogate mother and listening ear.
