Jewish Family Centre

The Jewish Family Centre (JFC) exists as an address of safety and comfort for any family in need. Many people in the Jewish community don’t feel comfortable bringing their challenges to a psychologist or organization. They much prefer going to a rabbi or a parent facing similar issues. The JFC is a Jewish establishment run by a rabbi, and parents who have dealt with many situations in the past.

Young teenagers today are facing many obstacles. Australia has one of the highest teenage suicide rates in the world. Parents of teenagers are often at times at a loss as to how they should deal with the situation. Rabbi and Mrs Lieder have found that when teenagers have problems, their parents are actually the last people who can help them. Not only that, but Rabbi and Mrs Lieder have also found that teenagers themselves are reluctant to go to psychologists or other such professionals, therefore the only people who are able to help them are their peers. However, sometimes teenagers mix with the wrong crowds. Consequently the JFC has established a crisis centre which is supervised twenty four hours a day seven days a week.

The Centre is a place where young teenagers can come and receive support from a group of eighteen year old girls who have training and experience in youth leadership. The idea is to generate a big and little sister program, because it has been realized, that teenagers are more likely to respond to an eighteen year old than to a doctor, parent or teacher. Once a relationship has been established, the leader can convince the teenager to seek professional help if necessary.

The Jewish Family Centre was founded by Rabbi Yaakov Lieder in 2003 in Sydney, Australia. Rabbi Lieder founded the Melbourne branch of the Jewish Family Centre In 2013. During that time, Rabbi Menachem Dadon was the director of the Sydney branch of the Jewish Family Centre. Now that Rabbi Lieder has moved back to Sydney, he is the director of the Sydney branch and he travels to Melbourne regularly to keep up activities in Melbourne.

מתוך jfc.org.au