Bikur Cholim opens 24-hour hotlline, women’s health division – Cleveland Jewish News

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Updated: February 17, 2022 @ 3:06 am
About 40 to 50 students at Brush High School in Lyndhurst staged a walk-out Feb. 8 in protest of the administration’s decision to re-enforce the school’s dress code and student behavior after complaints of alleged sexual harassment between students at the school.
About 40 to 50 students at Brush High School in Lyndhurst staged a walk-out Feb. 8 in protest of the administration’s decision to re-enforce the school’s dress code and student behavior after complaints of alleged sexual harassment between students at the school.
A great scholar of antisemitism once told me that there was one country that frustrated him when it came to its understanding of the extent and depth of Jew-hatred: Israel.
Jack B. “Yonny” Shapiro passed away on Feb. 1, 2022, at age 92.
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Bikur Cholim of Cleveland announced two new programs – a 24-hour hot line and women’s health division, and an annual fundraiser, ONWARD Cleveland, starting Feb. 19.
The 24-hour hot line began operations Jan. 1 to meet the needs of the community after hours, but was not announced until the organization was comfortable everything was running smoothly, Rabbi Alan Joseph, executive director of Bikur Cholim, told the Cleveland Jewish News.
“We would like to accomplish two things with this,” Joseph said. “Most importantly is that people get sick whenever God wants, they don’t choose when they get sick. So very often people are stranded over the weekend or particularly before the Sabbath and need help, or they need food.”
The other thing this will accomplish is a more sustainable way for staff and volunteers to be available for those in need 24 hours a day by having one person on call after hours and on weekends, Joseph said.
The hot line, which is staffed by volunteers after hours and during the night, was made possible through an anonymous donor and their family who have committed to take on the project for three years, Joseph said.
“It was something that was on my mind for a while,” he said. “I thought it was something that we should be doing. And somebody approached us and wanted to give back to Bikur Cholim and wanted to do a project. So, it sort of fell into our lap.”
The new women’s health division, led by volunteer nurse Leviah Hauer aims to offer advocacy and emotional support to Jewish women facing medical issues like infertility, pregnancy loss and OB/GYN health and wellness.
“People have expressed in the community that they’ve gone through tragedies or losses and trauma during various stages of their life and they felt very alone, didn’t have anywhere to turn,” Joseph said. “So, we’re hopeful that this will achieve two things: one is that people should feel comfortable reaching out.”
He said he hopes that Bikur Cholim can be a place to turn to for support while facing different challenges regarding women’s health.
“The other thing we want to accomplish is that there are a lot of resources out there in the world, both locally and internationally … for women’s health,” Joseph said. “And when someone is going through a tragedy, they don’t necessarily have the time or bandwidth, both emotionally and physically, to figure out which resource is best for them.”
Bikur Cholim hopes the women’s health center will help women to navigate the system of resources and connect them with the right resources to get help sooner rather than later, Joseph explained.
ONWARD Cleveland is Bikur Cholim’s annual fundraiser which helps provide kosher food for the sick, medical equipment for the frail and respite for families during a hospital stay.
This year’s fundraiser begins at 8 p.m. Feb. 19 in the evening and continues until Feb. 21 at night for 50 hours of crowdfunding and a goal of $800,000, Joseph said.
“We usually have an event every year, but due to COVID this year, we’re keeping it much more virtual,” he said. “We will be raising $800,000 and it’s a crowdfunding campaign, so we have lots of people signed up already who are ready to help us raise money.”
The fundraiser kick off will feature a livestreamed opening program with Rabbi Yossi Bensoussan, a motivational speaker and community educator on addiction.
The fundraiser will also feature a livestreamed auction, SOLD! Auction, for participants who become “Rayzers” and raise a minimum of $1,000. Then at 8 p.m. Feb. 21, the money raised by Rayzers become virtual dollars to be used to bid on prizes.
To make a donation, become a Rayzer or to view the opening program, visit onwardcleveland.org.
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