The History and Calling of Shalom Task Force - By Liba Lieberman, Yated Neeman

By Liba Lieberman, Yated Neeman

             Domestic abuse is a dark world in which women fear their present and future lives.  They don’t talk about their private nightmares, and because they lead “normal” lives as mothers taking care of their children, they are hard to detect.  For one pediatrician in Far Rockaway, the story of these women came into his practice and his heart nineteen years ago, when he noticed bruises on the mothers of his patients.  They confided in him that, indeed, they were victims of domestic violence.  Those revelations led him to speak with women who were active in community affairs, specifically Mrs. Nechama Wolfson of Lawrence, and the upshot was to begin a hotline for such victims. Shalom Task Force had begun.

            To insure that any woman would turn to the hotline in a time of need, Shalom Task Force immediately received haskamas from Rav Avraham Pam, ZT”L, and Rav Zelig Epstein, ZT”L. The hotline also has haskamas from the Vaad Ha Rabbanum of Far Rockaway, and the Vaad HaRabbanum of Queens.  Since its inception, the hotline has served a unique and vital role in the lives of women trapped in violent marriages.  Women call not only from across the country, but from around the globe. Today, the hotline mans offices in Manhattan, Queens, the Five Towns, and Brooklyn. Professional referrals are also now being offered in Lakewood. “The Shalom Task Force Hotline is an anonymous domestic abuse hotline,” Mrs. Sharron Russ, the hotline’s devoted director, tells the Yated Ne’eman.  “When women call, we do not ask names.  We do not have caller ID.”

            Seventy volunteer women man the hotline, which is open sixty-two hours a week:  Monday and Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to midnight; Tuesday and Wednesday, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and Friday and Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to Noon. Any woman can call either the local number, which is, 1-718-337-3700, or our toll-free number, 1-888-883-2323. 

            “We try to make it easy for the victims to talk to us,” Mrs. Russ notes. 

            How does one become a volunteer for the Shalom Task Force hotline?  Each volunteer must be married, and undergo rigorous training once a week for three hours over a twelve week period. If a potential volunteer misses more than one week of the training, she cannot continue.  For ten weeks, the trainees learn about domestic violence from a social worker with vast expertise in the field of domestic abuse.  The training also includes legal training, and halachic guidance. After twelve weeks of training, the new volunteers are assigned to work with two veteran volunteers on the hotline over a two month internship. There are hotline volunteers who speak Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, and Spanish. 

            “We are very selective,” continues Mrs. Russ.  “Not everyone who wants to become a volunteer is accepted. Only after I feel that they are ready to take the line do I assign them a shift, always with a veteran volunteer/advocate. Two new volunteers are never placed together.”

            All volunteers attend in-service meetings throughout the year. During these sessions, new information in the field is shared, and different professional agencies offer training programs to heighten the volunteers’ abilities to help the women who call them in distress. All therapists working with Shalom Task Force are carefully selected, and go through Shalom Task Force’s domestic violence training.

            Many years have passed, and the original few calls have grown in number to well over 13,000 calls.  “The calls increase because we have developed a reputation,” Mrs. Russ offers.  “Victims feel safe calling and speaking with us.”

            One of the many reasons women who are victims of domestic violence keep turning to the Shalom Task Force Hotline is because of their far reaching referral system.  “We have a very extensive referral manual,” Mrs. Russ points out.  “When a victim calls us, we listen, and refer her to the proper agency or therapist who can help her the most.”

            Those services include social services, legal guidance, financial assistance, and mental health referrals.  “We give them the numbers to call,” she explains.  “We don’t do therapy over the phone.  We guide the victims to the proper referrals.”

            If a woman feels that her life is in danger, chas v’shalom, the hotline goes through a safety plan with her.  That plan includes gathering important papers, determining and giving contact information for a shelter, working out money considerations, and people she should call to be aware of her situation.  These women are strongly encouraged to document the abuse as much as possible. 

            Ideally, Shalom Task Force would like to prevent abuse before it happens.  Towards that end, it offers educational programs in high schools for boys and girls.  Programs for girls highlight the “red flags” to look for and how to promote healthy relations.  Programs for boys teach anger management and communication skills.  Shalom Task Force also regularly gives these programs in seminaries in Eretz Yisroel, which have been particularly helpful among girls of dating age.

            “We try to prevent young women from entering marriage that may become abusive,” Mrs. Russ concludes.  “Prevention is an important aspect of what Shalom Task Force does.  We try to help them before they get in this terrible situation.  My biggest wish is that one day the hotline will be unnecessary; that there is no longer domestic violence.”  Amein.