The Aleph Institute - N.E. Regional Headquarters

The Aleph Institute is a non-profit Jewish religious, educational, and humanitarian organization offering services to imprisoned Jewish men and women and their families. No Jew is alone, and no Jew is forgotten

The Aleph Institute - North East Region, was founded in Pittsburgh by Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel in 1991 to address the needs of incarcerated Jews distributed among facilities across the region. Beginning in the 1980's, the US prison system began to grow exponentially, scattering the same number of Jews even further, leading many to slip through the cracks of chaplaincy services. Most prisons did not provide Kosher food, and were unfamiliar with the needs of Jewish inmates wishing to follow Jewish practice. Today, there are 2.3 million people incarcerated in America, and among them are 85,000 Jewish men and women. The Aleph Institute works to provide these Jews - and their families - access to spiritual, educational, religious, and advocacy support services.

In the three decades since its founding, Aleph has worked to build strong relationships among rabbis, inmates, chaplains, and state officials. As the services provided increased, the need for a permanent office grew. in 2005, Aleph purchased a facility in the heart of Pittsburgh's Jewish community, Squirrel Hill, from which it continues to provide essential programs for incarcerated individuals and their families.

Today, The Aleph Institute has evolved into the nation's most effective advocate for Jewish prisoners and their loved ones. Involving faith-based organizations, like The Aleph Institute, has been shown to reduce recidivism rates from 77% to just 8%. Aleph's longstanding programs and services across local, state, and federal prisons have gained the endorsement of a skeptical prison system, thereby according Aleph a unique level of confidence and responsibility.

From AlephNE.org