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Jewish teens have been struggling since outbreak of war
The JTeen helpline has seen enquiries double since the terrorist attacks on 7 October
The chief executive of JTeen, which runs a confidential helpline for those aged 11-20, said the organisation’s enquiries had doubled since the Hamas terror attacks on 7 October.
CEO Yaakov Baar, a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) therapist, told Jewish News: “We have seen a huge increase in the teens reaching out to us. We used to get around 60 or 70 teens reaching out but have had over 150 a week since the war broke out.
“A lot of teens are feeling quite unsafe at the moment. They are feeling insecure and intimidated, struggling with anxiety and worry. We are also getting a lot of university students reaching out.”
JTeen runs an anonymous messaging service where volunteers guide Jewish teenagers from ages 11-20 through whatever challenges they may be facing.
Since the conflict started, JTeen has started running weekly webinars helping teenagers to stay physically and mentally safe during these times. More than 180 people joined last week’s ‘The Israel War and Me’ webinar led by Deborah French, a British CBT therapist, living in Israel.
JTeen is also running workshops in schools advising students on how they can stay physically and mentally safe.
“I am finding it so sad that we are doing all of this but glad we can be there to help.”
JTeen’s next webinar, The Israel War and Me, takes place Thursday 26 October
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