TODAY’S JEWISH ADOLESCENT:
STRUGGLING AGAINST THE TIDE |
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It is no secret that today’s adolescents are faced with a myriad of difficult challenges and decisions. Drugs, alcohol, depression, dropping out of school and even criminal behavior, are rapidly plaguing our youth.
While it is no surprise, it is still a shock within the Jewish community that every year more and more Jewish adolescents from religious homes are struggling against the same tide.
There are many reasons why young adolescents turn to self-destructive behaviors, and religious Jewish youth are no exception. Pressures of contemporary society, financial burdens, family discord including divorce, domestic violence, and child abuse, are key factors. Another key factor that is also prevalent in many adolescents is the stress related to coping with learning disabilities. After years of suffering the embarrassment and lack of self-esteem as result of being unsuccessful within their educational framework, a large percentage of teenagers who have learning disabilities are easy prey to fall into self-destructive behavior and join negative peer groups.
Whatever the cause, the result is that too many Jewish children from religious homes are falling into a powerful and tragic cycle of pain, confusion, humiliation, and isolation. Instead of spending their precious years with positive memories and making plans for the future, thousands of at-risk Jewish teens are in danger of sealing their future in even more self-defeat and self-destructive behavior. NOWHERE TO TURN!
At-risk teenage Jewish girls coming from religious homes face even more complex problems. Caught in a societal vice-grip and trying to live a double life, they struggle to maintain enough of a facade to placate their parents within their religious structure, while embracing a new life which is clearly antithetical to the values of their home and community. The more they sense that their behavior is unacceptable within their world, the more they become defiant and attracted to a new group of peers who offer them the unconditional acceptance that they thirst for, along with all the unbridled “perks” of a lifestyle of alcohol, drugs, promiscuity, and the like. While their new lifestyle “feels” good for a short time, many soon realize that they have crossed over the “line” into a world that is both dangerous and meaningless. Even when the girls deep down feel that the religious world they are rejecting is a world that offers real substance, security, and meaning, they often feel that its too late to turn back.
Consumed with shame and denial, at-risk Jewish adolescent girls and their parents sometimes admit too late that they need to seek help and feel like they have nowhere to turn. Because of societal pressure and expectations, making the first step for the at-risk religious girl is even more traumatic since their fear of being stigmatized and labeled as the “bad girl” is even more magnified.
While there have been major breakthroughs within the religious community to offer teens help, to date there are no programs which can cater to the unique needs of religious Jewish girls who have already slipped far from their social fabric and school system |
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