Gural JCC introduces B’Yachad Helpline to support community amid ongoing Gaza conflict

The many phone calls from concerned Marion & Aaron Gural JCC regulars have led the Cedarhurst-based organization to create what it is calling the B’Yachad Helpline, for those seeking someone to talk to as the ongoing war in Gaza continues to create widespread anxiety.

In collaboration with the Jewish Women’s Leadership Council and funded by the UJA-Federation of New York, the helpline will be available six days a week for those concerned about family and friends in Israel.

“Our neighborhood is very much connected to Israel,” Rachayle Deutsch, the JCC’s director of cultural arts and education, said. “Everybody here has Israel on their minds always, and when the war broke out, everyone was agitated and concerned, worried about families there.”

Staffed by more than 40 trained volunteers, the helpline will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., six days a week.

Cheryl Friedman, a clinical social worker with an office in Cedarhurst and the founder of the SOVIRI Helpline, which provides support and outreach to those in Orthodox Jewish communities who are affected by sexual abuse, led the training sessions for the volunteers in October.

Rachel Pill, another clinical social worker, conducted the pre-training interviews to find the best candidates for the training. Those who advanced met with Friedman in the second training session, in which she taught active listening skills, helpful phrases, validating statements and how to calm someone who is agitated.

Friedman said that the launch of the helpline would benefit those in the Five Towns who have a deep connection to Israel. “In the community, there are many people who have children who are either living in Israel or chose to serve in the Israel army prior to the war,” she said. “For them to have a listening ear to be able to support and validate what they’re going through, it’s going to be helpful.”

With two locations in the Five Towns, one on Grove Avenue, in Cedarhurst, and the other at the Harrison-Kerr Family Campus in Lawrence, the organization offers a range services for children, teens, adults and seniors.

Holocaust survivors who live in the Five Towns and surrounding communities also spend time at the JCC, and take part in its Chaverim program, which offers social, recreational and educational activities.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel, Deutsch said, the JCC has collected combat shirts, pants and boots for the Israel Defense Forces, held medical supply drives and offered emotional support and counseling.

“The Gural JCC has been involved in several of these events and we will continue to help in any way we can,” Executive Director Stacey Feldman wrote in an email. “Through our partnership with the Jewish Women’s Leadership Council and UJA Federation, we are launching the B’Yachad Helpline to ensure that anyone struggling with the events taking place in Israel and the rise in antisemitism has a friendly voice to assist them with the stress and anxiety we are now facing.

“We know so many in our community are affected,” Feldman added, “and we stand ready to help get them through these extremely difficult times.”

The helpline is (516) 696-3696.