Vision
Shirat Halev rescues runaway or homeless young women, primarily from Haredi and religious background, and helps them heal, transform their lives, and achieve self-sufficiency. Shirat Halev is their lifeline! It provides them with no-barrier housing and immediate needs, a place to call home, unconditional love and acceptance. With this sense of security, the young women can open up to recovery and a positive future.
Activity
Shirat Halev reaches out to homeless young women, aged 18 and above, and rescues them before the point of no return. They arrive through referrals of welfare officials or word of mouth. They have no financial resources, family support or modern life skills. As part of our wraparound approach, we encourage them to pursue vocational trainings corresponding with their interest, inclination and ability, and provide funding for vocational study programs. Our comprehensive set of services and hands-on support aim to heal them from trauma and family adversity, developing personal agency. Our goal is to see them emerge as independent adults with a renewed sense of self-esteem and financial self-sufficiency. They usually stay in our apartments for 2 years, during which they take concrete steps towards viable education and training opportunities, employment and building their personal lives. They pay a monthly fee towards rent, utilities and programming as part of the process of taking ownership over their lives. We maintain a structured and stable daily routine within the apartments and expect the women to be productive in achieving personal goals and to participate in the apartment upkeep. In 2021, we serve 30 runaway and homeless women residing in our transition apartments.