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.” “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.
“I can’t tell a girl, ‘I don’t have room for you.’”
“Sometimes I get a call in the middle of the night from an unidentified number from
someone who saw us on the Internet. Even if there’s no room in the apartment, it’s
clear to me that I have to help her. Because what can you say – ‘Sorry, you’ll have to
continue sleeping on the park bench’? I don’t have the heart to do that.”
