Covid 19 portal
Jewish House is an independent, not-for-profit organisation helping people in need with crisis intervention and prevention services and support.
Initially, JH started as counselling centre for teenagers and other age-groups who were involved in drug and alcohol abuse. However, with time, it has expanded the services to support homelessness that now include the 24/7 help line, crisis accommodation, psychology, psychiatry, social work, counselling, community education, prevention and positive living programs. The wide range of crisis intervention and prevention services for individuals and families covers issues such as depression, alcoholism, gambling and drug addiction, domestic violence, mental illness, unemployment, anger management, family disputes and other crises besides homelessness. As part of the new approach Jewish House developed JH Kids as a support for the children from the community.
JH Kids is a child-centred organisation that ensures children's needs are always our priority. JH Kids aim to intervene early and build up children's innate resilience to face challenging times and enable them to meet future challenges equipped with the necessary tools.
In March 2019 in response to the COVID - 19 Pandemic and the lockdown of NSW, Jewish House launched the COVID -19 portal which included JH Kids and Family resources .
These resources included guides on how to use age-appropriate language and tools to talk to kids and manage anxiety. There are resources exploring strategies on how to explain the uncertainty and unique circumstances in the world at this time, helping parents explain to their children the reasons they could not see their loved ones, such as grandparents, friends, uncles and aunties. We also developed a list of fun activities to be explored by children, including virtual tours. The COVID-19 portal was a highly successful platform with more than 400 people accessing the resources. In late June, JH Kids launched an online portal for children and families, with checklists, planning worksheets and a vast array of links to various activities.
Waratah Education Foundation were pleased to support the continuing build of this platform.