Helping Immigrant Children Adapt to Life in Israel

Adolescence is a time of turmoil for any youngster. With all the physical and emotional upheaval that marks the transition from childhood to adulthood, stability in their homes, schools and social lives can be a vital anchor for youngsters as they weather storms of change within themselves.

Few experiences disrupt this stability more completely than immigration. At a turning point in their lives, immigrant youngsters must also cope with leaving behind all that is familiar and instead grapple with new homes and schools, a new language and culture, and the need to make new friends. Even parents – on whose strength adolescents depend, even as they rebel against it – may no longer be a source of security, as they too struggle to find their place in a strange land.

"From Risk to Opportunity" program is designed to bring. Developed by Ashalim – JDC's partnership with the Government of Israel and UJA-Federation of New York for service development for children and youth at risk – the program confronts the unique challenges of immigrant youth, targeting immigrants aged 13 to 18 and, crucially, the education and social-service professionals who work with them.

The program draws from existing services and programs for youth. But it adapts and focuses them to meet the specific needs of immigrants and the local conditions in a given community, and ensures that each young oleh receives coordinated and integrated support and assistance. Here is one such story:

Irena has had a rough few years. At nine, her mother brought Irena to Israel, leaving her father and friends behind in Ukraine. She tried to make a go of her new life in Ashkelon. But she struggled in school, struggled to find friends, and struggled at home while her unemployed mother fought a losing battle to make ends meet. Hers was an immigrant experience gone terribly wrong.

Desperately seeking acceptance, the 16-year-old found it only in pale imitation – from a 23-year-old drug-dealer boyfriend. With Irena skipping school, and showing signs of physical abuse and drug use, Irena's mother cried out for help. But neither she nor the welfare or school authorities could halt Irena's slide into self-destruction. The only person who could reach her was Shira.

A native-born Israeli student, Shira volunteers as a mentor for at-risk immigrant youth through Ashalim's "From Risk to Opportunity" program. Trained to be sensitive to the teens' battle with identity, language and alienation, Shira reached out to Irena, and coaxed her back from the brink.

"I called constantly until she agreed to meet me," Shira describes. "At first, I mostly listened. But then we started talking about saying no to drugs, about escaping violence. I helped show her how to move forward one step at a time."

Now 17, Irena is back in school and – in a sign she is finally finding her place – wants to serve in the army. "All young people should dream," says Shira. "I just helped Irena see that she can too."