Boston Partnership Makes the Mikveh a Safer Sanctuary for Victims of Abuse

Carol Targum sent us this note and link to an article in Jewish Women's International about Embracing Waters.  The story mentions our BJCWF grant to Mayyim Hayyim.  The full text of the article is here, and the article can be found at www.jwi.org/Page.aspx?pid=1486.

Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein, volunteer mikveh guide, Mayyim Hayyim; Janet Yassen, LICSW, Embracing Waters; Julie Youdovin, Outreach and Program Coordinator at Journey to Safety, the domestic abuse program at Jewish Family & Children's Service, Greater Boston

This past year, Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Paula Brody & Family Education Center, together with Journey to Safety (formerly Kol Isha), the domestic abuse program at Jewish Family & Children’s Service in Greater Boston, renewed an ongoing partnership to bring support, help, and healing to Jewish survivors of domestic abuse.  

Thanks to a generous grant from the Boston Jewish Community Women’s Fund, Mayyim Hayyim and Journey to Safety have been able to take their ongoing partnership to a new level. Mayyim Hayyim’s initiative, called Embracing Waters, set out a plan to host a Journey to Safety support group, and also to train male and female mikveh guides on issues related to trauma and domestic abuse. Guides explored issues of confidentiality and privacy for immersees, and looked at some of the cultural and religious context that fuels denial and silence around domestic abuse in the Jewish community.  Over the course of five hours of training, guides were taught how to recognize signs of trauma and abuse and then spent time exploring ways to respond effectively and refer gently and respectfully.  

Embracing Waters is part of a larger organization-wide focus on supporting victims & survivors of abuse. Mayyim Hayyim has also run a training for its staff and board to make sure that everyone is working together on these important initiatives. To that end, Mayyim Hayyim will be disseminating its materials nationally in the fall so that other communities can take advantage of the resources Mayyim Hayyim has developed.

This collaboration continues into the spring, with an Embracing Waters workshop for therapists on the therapeutic uses of mikveh for coping with abuse and trauma. Through a collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, therapists will be able to earn Continuing Education Credits while examining topics such as the cultural context of abuse in the Jewish community, uses of mikveh for traditional and contemporary purposes, and mikveh as a therapeutic resource.  
 
Looking ahead, the Boston Jewish Community Women’s Fund has enthusiastically agreed to support the collaboration for a second year.  In the fall, Mayyim Hayyim will host an international mikveh conference here in Boston. The conference will include a breakout session on making mikveh more welcoming and more accessible to survivors of domestic abuse and to breast cancer survivors.

This strong partnership between Mayyim Hayyim and Journey to Safety is an exciting new direction for collaboration in greater Boston, creating yet another opportunity for Jewish survivors of abuse to find support, help, hope, and paths to healing from within our tradition and our community.