Local Couple Lends Their Support and Voice to The Beit Ruth Village

By Elissa Einhorn, Grants & Communications Manager
Beit Ruth Educational & Therapeutic Village

Gilda Josephson and Jeff Weingarten have always been drawn to the helping professions – classroom teaching, school counseling, and as psychotherapists – fulfilling their desire to contribute to the well-being of people, generally, and particularly youth.

Their support of the Beit Ruth Educational & Therapeutic Village is an extension of that desire and of their values. The couple was introduced to Beit Ruth, a unique long-term therapeutic and residential community for at-risk teenage girls in Israel, at a Jewish Council of North Central Florida (JCNCF) event several years ago.

“Danielle came on a Sunday morning and talked about Beit Ruth,” Gilda recalls, referring to Danielle Burenstein, Beit Ruth’s New York-based Executive Director. “We also saw a video and heard the girls speak from the Village. I was impressed and was particularly interested because it was a treatment facility for girls who were abused. We were shocked to hear about girls who were removed from their homes and about the poverty and abuse in Israel. It struck a chord.”

A retired psychotherapist who wrote her dissertation about factors that are helpful to counsel female survivors of incest, Gilda spent her career working with adult victims of interpersonal violence. Jeff, also a psychotherapist, enjoyed a 44-year career working in public schools, primarily as a school counselor at the elementary and middle school levels.

“Beit Ruth really resonated with us,” Jeff says. “It is meeting a need.”

Understanding how important it is to provide a safe place for recovery, Gilda says, “Beit Ruth provides safety, security, and listening – things all kids need to recover from trauma.”

While knowing much about Beit Ruth, and being financial supporters of the lifesaving work that occurs there, Gilda and Jeff had an opportunity to visit the Village in November 2019 while they were on a tour of the Aegean Sea that ended in Jerusalem.

“We contacted Danielle who was so enthusiastic and she put us in touch with Iris (Beit Ruth’s Managing Director in Israel) who made it very easy for us to get from Jerusalem to Afula,” Gilda explains.

Jeff remembers noticing the industrial environment of Afula, where Beit Ruth is located, and then turning down the road that leads to the Village.

“All of a sudden, there’s a gate and Mor (Beit Ruth’s Village Manager) and Iris met us,” he says, with Gilda adding, “They were running to welcome us with open arms!”

After dropping their backpacks off in one of the three residential buildings, the couple was taken on a tour of the Village. They were especially impressed with the artwork created by girls during Art Therapy, in particular, “The Wedding Dress Project.”

“It absolutely floored me,” Gilda shares. “The creativity of the girls and the brilliant idea to have girls express themselves through these dresses was incredible.”

Jeff mentioned seeing evidence of other financial support throughout the Village, expressing his appreciation that there are others who care about what happens at Beit Ruth. Gilda particularly remembers how Iris explained the requirements for coming to the Village, including that girls visit and make a choice to come.

“This is part of Beit Ruth’s approach to give control back to girls who lost so much control,” she explains, this time with Jeff adding, “It encourages empowerment.”

While enjoying lunch with some of the girls and Rotem, Beit Ruth’s supervising social worker, they told her about different therapeutic techniques being used to address post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), specifically EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy that uses a series of lights to create rapid eye movement to lessen anxiety associated with traumatic memories. Certified in the technique, Gilda had the equipment necessary for the therapy and decided to donate it to the Village. Then she discovered that Iris knew of an Israeli therapist trained in the technique and hopes to incorporate it into the Village’s treatment program.

As they talk about the comprehensive services and programs provided at Beit Ruth, both Gilda and Jeff hope enough funds can be raised to expand the facility and reduce the list of vulnerable girls who are waiting to arrive. Gilda expresses appreciation for the support Beit Ruth receives from several sources but can’t help asking, “How come everyone doesn’t know about this wonderful place?”

For more information about Beit Ruth, visit www.beitruth.com or contact Executive Director Danielle Burenstein at danielleb@beitruth.com or 516-822-0074.