No time for summer vacation at The Eliezer Project

By Gideon Bari

Issue of August 20, 2010/ 10 Elul 5770

People stop me on the street and ask me whether things have eased for job seekers. They follow up by saying that they heard that the economy is doing better. We all hope and want to believe that we have entered a period of recovery. This is part of a national trend. There are several reasons for this misconception.

We are all tired of the bad news. We want to be finished with this crisis by accepting and believing media reports that the worst has passed; we feel absolved from feelings of guilt and anxiety about the ongoing recession.

For some, the novelty and urgency of the crisis has now become the new status quo - it begins to feel normal to live with these circumstances.

Many people have become impatient with this ongoing problem.  "Why can't the president fix it?" they ask. Others think that perhaps the person who is out of work is partially at fault - they adopt an unfortunate mentality of blaming the victim

Locally, in our Orthodox community, there is a great weight placed on appearances. People who are dealing with severe financial hardship go to great lengths to hide their suffering and pretend that they are okay. As a result, appearances in shuls, at smachot and on Central Avenue are deceiving. Ask the schools and they will tell you that scholarship requests continue to mount. Ask the rabbis and they will tell you that their discretionary funds are tapped out. Ask the Tomchei Shabbos drivers and they will tell you that they have added new names and addresses to their delivery routes.

At this time of year much of the community is still in summer mode; everything seems to move a bit slower. Life takes on a more casual tone and we hearken back to our school days when July & August were a carefree, no-school season. For those members suffering from job loss and economic hardship, the summer months offer no respite.

Here at The Eliezer Project we know no seasons. Monday brings a newly unemployed client. We will review and rewrite his resume before the week is over. We will also register our new client to receive daily job postings that are exclusively available to Eliezer Project clients.

Over the course of the week this story will repeat itself several times.

Tuesday evening we host an event where a social worker talks about strategies for dealing with stress during the job search process. The program is well attended and provides comfort and strength to all who attend.

On Wednesday we receive a frantic call about a recently unemployed stockbroker who is without health insurance. We quickly make arrangements to provide coverage for both parents and children. With insurance coverage back in place, our client is able to focus his energies on what truly matters most, his job search. Later that day our focus shifts. Suddenly we are busy working with a team of professionals to fight a threatened foreclosure sale.

Before the week is over we will provide food stipends to assist a family preparing for Shabbos, stock the local food pantry with groceries collected from neighborhood supermarkets, and connect a distraught single parent to a mental health professional.

Over the course of each month the range of questions and challenges we are presented with knows no limits. We have provided tuition stipends to assist our clients with job retraining. When needed we also provide emergency assistance with utility bills. For clients dealing with significant credit card debt, we provide guidance and offer strategies that can result in reducing and eliminating these obligations.

Through it all, friends and neighbors are assisted in a manner that preserves their dignity and respect. From its creation 18 months ago, TEP exists for the sole purpose of addressing the effects of job loss and economic hardship in our community. Not a day passes when we are not involved in providing counsel and guidance as our clients seek employment and develop strategies for dealing with all aspects of economic hardship.

Our work continues, our telephones ring, our hearts are open regardless of the season. Thank you for your continued financial support.

Gideon Bari is the Executive Director of The Eliezer Project. Reach him at gbari@eliezerproject.org