Shalom Task Force - Promoting Peaceful Relations & Healthy Marriages

Sarah’s Voice - Introducing Free Legal Aid for Victims of Domestic Abuse

Sarah's Voice is a new legal aid service that provides a multi-disciplinary approach to addressing domestic violence issues in the Orthodox community. Sarah's Voice ir run by a full-time lawyer and social worker are working hand in hand to ease the process as clients come forward to receive legal aid.

Services provided to victims include: • Legal advice and/or counsel • Orders of protection • Divorce • Custody concerns

The social worker will provide clients with concrete social services, case management, safety planning and/or referrals for therapeutic interventions.

All services will be delivered with sensitivity, empathy, and diligence.

All services for victims are confidential, free of charge, and available without regard to gender or age.

For more information about Sarah's Voice call the Shalom Task Force hotline at 1-888-883-2323 or 718 718-337-3700

Memorial Lecture in Memory of Pess Epstein a’h

Shalom Task Force held an observance of the second yahrzeit of Mrs. Pess Epstein, a”h, on Motzoei Shabbos, October 31, 2009, at 8:30 p.m. at Lander College for Men, 75-31 150th Street, Kew Gardens Hills, NY. Mrs. Epstein, a founding member, devoted herself selflessly to the organization for many years until her passing.

The observance was attended by over 400 community members and featured a lecture by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President Emeritus, OU, entitled “After the Chuppah… Building a Lasting Marriage in a Disposable World.” The lecture addressed the expectations parents have for their children who are getting married and ways that couples can cope with the problems in the early stages of marriage in the Orthodox Jewish Community. Men and women are invited to attend.

This valuable talk is now available for purchase by calling 718-252-5274.

Since 1993, Shalom Task Force has been a leader in healthy marriage education and programs that promote peaceful relationships between family members. Shalom Task Force maintains a Hotline and offers extensive preventive educational programs to youth, singles and engaged couples.

For more information call 212-742-1478 or visit www.shalomtaskforce.org

STF Hotline Growth and Expansion

Mrs. Sharron Russ, Hotline Director for Shalom Task Force, prays every day that her job will cease to exist. Alas, her prayers have yet to be answered. During hours, two female volunteers (of a staff of 70 trained advocates) are ready to respond to the urgent emotional and physical needs of Jewish women in crisis and Mrs. Russ is on the case.

For the last fifteen years, thousands of Jewish women have summoned up the courage to reach out to the Hotline. They rely on Shalom Task Force’s guarantee of anonymity and privacy and are aware that a an Orthodox Jewish wife will delay efforts to seek advice since she is fearful of embarrassment and potential negative consequences for her and her children. When she finally gathers the courage to face her dilemma, she calls the hotline as her first step towards help.

Shalom Task Force – Answering the Call of Domestic Abuse

Three out of four Americans know someone who is or has been a victim of domestic abuse, according to the Allstate Foundation National Poll on Domestic Violence. While it impacts many, few discuss the issue.

One organization, Shalom Task Force, has been responding to the domestic abuse in the Jewish community since 1992. Shalom Task Force maintains a Hotline and offers extensive preventive educational programs to youth, singles and engaged couples.

Shalom Task Force Expands Seminary Programs

Yeshivah day school graduates studying in Israel for the year are facing many challenges and opportunities: thinking about college or a second year in seminary, or choosing the right career path. But these choices pale next to the critical task of finding or choosing the right spouse. They are starting to think about how to build a binyan adey ad- a true and everlasting edifice that will last a lifetime.

Making Shalom

Domestic abuse in the Orthodox community is a pressing problem, yet one which must be handled with sensitivity and awareness of halachic issues. Fifteen years ago Nechama Wolfson founded the Shalom Task Force to do just that.

Read the Founding of Shalom Task Force in PDF Format

A Story of Survival

My husband, who I thought would be loving and respectful, turned out to be controlling and eventually abusive towards me.

How Do I Know If I’m Being Abused?

By Lisa Twerski, LCSW

In an abusive relationship the abusive spouse believes that he is entitled to be in control of his spouse, in every way important to him, and will use a variety of tactics to gain and maintain that control.

The Problem Is Ours

By Rabbi Avraham J. Twerski

There is a potent word in the Yiddish vocabulary, so potent that it has influenced attitudes. Even those who do not under stand a single word of Yiddish are affected by it. The word is “shanda.”

Breaking The Silence

By Aviva Hoch

On Sunday, May I, 1994, the lead article of 'The Nation," a feature of the New York Times "Week in Review" section, described changes in the way law enforcement officials are handling complaints of domestic violence. Many who read the detailed article, sighed at the telling photograph of a victimized woman and child, and turned the page. How many among us were aware that this acute problem also rages within our “safe” Jewish communities?

Domestic Abuse - The Dark Side of Marriage

By Lisa Twerski, LCSW

In the past several years our community's' awareness of the many social problems we face has grown tremendously. Much has been written about child abuse, substance abuse, troubled youth and domestic violence. A deeper understanding of these problems, however, still eludes many of us. It is only with that deeper insight that we as individuals as well as a community can be of help.

Taking Domestic Violence To Task

By Jeani Silver

Domestic violence in the Orthodox community is like a tear in the lining of a beautiful garment. The wearer of the garment knows it exists and feels it ripping, giving way with time. It is hidden from the outside observer until the damaged material slips out from underneath and becomes visible. Perhaps at the mivkah, at a meeting of a community organization or school, or in the neighborhood grocery, the damage begins to show. Until recently, those who would have chosen to have the garment repaired could not find a tailor who did the work.