Chai Lifeline crisis team partners with local organizations to help mental health professionals and first responders process trauma and help others
Project Chai, the crisis intervention, trauma, and bereavement department of Chai Lifeline has partnered with the South Florida Jewish community to lend support and resources following the tragic building collapse in Surfside.
By Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox
Our understanding of illness and disease, through the perspective of Torah, is that events which occur in life are not without cause or reason. The Torah consigns to humanity the right to engage in healing, and our hishtadlus – our personal steps to engage in the management of illness through seeking and complying with professional expert help – is in no way a contradiction to our firm faith that HaShem is the only One who determines health, life and wellness.
read full storyRabbi Dr. Dovid Fox, director of Project Chai, the crisis intervention, trauma and bereavement department of Chai Lifeline, offers practical suggestions and words of chizuk for parents, educators and community leaders on dealing with the shooting in Jersey City.
read full storyThe Jewish community is reeling with heartbreak following the tragic news of Reb Dovid Traube’s, z”l, drowning in Greenwood Lake yesterday.
In response to the numerous questions and concerns we have received, Project Chai, the crisis intervention, trauma and bereavement department of Chai Lifeline, will host a community-wide conference call tonight, Monday, August 19, at 9:30 p.m. ET. Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox, Project Chai Director of Interventions and Community Education, will address various psychological, spiritual, parenting, and practical concerns regarding children and adults.
read full storyAddressing the Horror and Tragedy of the San Diego Synagogue Shooting with Students, Children, and Among Ourselves
Guidelines from Project Chai, the crisis intervention, trauma and bereavement department of Chai Lifeline
Death, under any circumstance, is a painful and troubling event to face. Willful, hate-filled terrorism, in our cities, in our sacred places which are dedicated to worship and outreach, is beyond horrifying. A gunman has opened fire, murdering and injuring innocent people, as the world looks on and as the Jewish world is frozen in shock and agony. read full story
Project Chai, the Crisis Intervention, Trauma, and Bereavement department of Chai Lifeline, hosted a leadership training seminar at Chai Lifeline’s Manhattan headquarters on October 31. The session offered guidance to select volunteers on leading their community’s Project Chai teams and is part of the rigorous, formal training program all volunteers must undergo for providing intervention following crises and traumatic events.
Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox and Project Chai Team Leaders
IN THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH OF THE PITTSBURGH SYNAGOGUE MASSACRE:
ADDRESSING THE HORROR AND TRAGEDY WITH STUDENTS AND CHILDREN
A message from Project Chai, the crisis intervention, trauma and bereavement department of Chai Lifeline
Death, under any circumstance, is a painful and troubling event to face.
When our young people learn about the death of someone whom they knew, particularly if they have not encountered loss before, our task is somewhat clear. We open up a dialogue at an age-appropriate level, we listen to the child’s thoughts and observe their emotional expression, and we validate their personal reaction. Depending upon their age and maturity, and upon the questions which they pose to us, we can offer information, we might correct misunderstandings, we can clarify concepts, and we can offer support that we will continue to be open to them as they struggle to cope. Some of the same messages which we try to give ourselves when faced with tragic loss are given to young people, always at a pace and level which the child or teen can relate to. read full story
A message from Project Chai, the crisis intervention, trauma and bereavement department of Chai Lifeline
Ominous reports of Hurricane Florence are creating fear, panic and worry for thousands of people in the path of this monster storm. For those far from that region, vivid memories of New York during Sandy, of Houston, of New Orleans and of other flood-battered communities can be equally dread-ridden and reminiscent of tragedy. For Jews in every part of the world, our concern and our readiness to show support and care for those who are huddling in anticipation of landfall, or who have already evacuated, leaving synagogues, schools and homes behind, is in the forefront of our minds. read full story
