Dear Friends,
Who could have anticipated last Rosh Hashanah that no matter what our lifestyle or where we were in the world, life would soon change so radically. When I planned the year at Kav L’Noar, I certainly never expected that we would soon have to adapt our programs to fit with shutdown schools, clients unable to meet with their therapists in person, and slashed budgets everywhere. And yet, had I known what was to come, I would have predicted that the effect of the pandemic on the emotional health of our communities worldwide would indeed be as drastic as we can all see today. Many of us recognize that Covid-19 has exacerbated what was already all around us- isolation, anxiety, self-destruction, addictions, relentless social and financial pressure and broken relationships.What has become clear to me is that while we will continue to provide our life-saving therapeutic services to those individuals and families who come through our physical or virtual doors, and to do our best to keep pace with the growing demand, these direct interventions are no longer enough. We need local and national government agencies to provide the budgets and policies that will support and prioritize emotional health, and we will do our best at Kav L’Noar to move that process along. Meanwhile, it is time for Kav L’Noar to educate more widely, providing leaders and educators with the tools they need to support emotional health inside their diverse communities.Our vision is for an emotionally healthy society made up of individuals and families, equipped with the inner confidence, skills and resilience needed to unlock life’s fullest potential. With your partnership, Kav L’Noar will pave the way and use our interventions, education and support to change the emotional health landscape. This year, we are dedicating our Elul campaign towards intensifying our community education efforts. With your support, we will be able to run special sessions for educators, community rabbis and others in leadership positions, which will explore the sort of emotional health issues that their students and communities face, and how they can use their positions to help. We expect that this will lead to many more requests for our services, and will also be a step towards a much needed change to the broader conversation about emotional health.We would especially appreciate monthly donations this year, which we can use as a stable foundation to help us expand our ongoing therapy and mentoring services. Donations can also be earmarked for our pioneering community outreach efforts.Thank you as always for your generosity and friendship, and I wish you and your loved ones a shana tova u’metuka, a healthy, fulfilling and connected year.
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