17 Youth at Risk: • Trying to Break the Cycle of Poverty - Jaffa/South Tel Aviv (p. 17-18) • A Very Large Israeli Family Needing Help (p. 19-20) • Children Who Are Caregivers in Palm Beach County (p. 21) • The Gaza-Border City of Sderot (p. 22) • Giving Kids in Netanya a Chance (p. 23) • Underprivileged and Educationally At-Risk Children in Delray Beach (p. 24) • Helping Underprivileged Kids in Washington, DC (p. 25) • Helping Underprivileged Kids In New York City (p. 26) • Teaching Leadership to Teens in Ashkelon, Israel (p. 27) • A Safe Haven in Jerusalem for English Speaking Youth in Distress (p. 28) Trying to Break the Cycle of Poverty – Jaffa/South Tel Aviv The Jaffa Institute (TJI) was created to serve those children who grow up in the worst Israeli neighborhoods, particularly in South Tel Aviv and Jaffa. Approximately 50% of their target population live below the poverty line. Some 30% regularly receive local welfare services. And the worst statistic of all: Over 50% of the children drop out of school before the 12th grade. TJI was established in 1982 as a multi-service social welfare agency to assist the city of Jaffa’s severely disadvantaged children and their families. Its mission, initially, was to provide educational, therapeutic, and social enrichment programs that assist children to develop positive attitudes and skills to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty in the impoverished communities of Jaffa, South Tel Aviv, and Bat Yam. Over time TJI has expanded its mission to include special needs children, crisis residences for at-risk youth, feeding the poor, educational enrichment centers providing the necessary tools to moms (many of them single) to initially enter, or get back into, the workforce and helping Holocaust survivors. It currently operates more than 30 different programs and provides service and relief to over 4,000 Israelis.