“Everyone tells me I have the strength, but I’m afraid of cracking,” says Dina, a young, single mother who is raising her 2-year old daughter, Nisma, alone.

Sadly, being on her own is not a new experience for her. When she was just 15, Dina’s family emigrated from Iraq to the safety of Israel. Within a year, her parents had divorced and then abandoned her to the foster care system.

“I don’t want my daughter to ever feel like I felt—abandoned and alone,” says Dina. “But I don’t always know how to be the mother she needs.”

Putting Parents at the Center

Last year, Dina found the help she needed through Parents at the Center, a collaborative project developed by CJP’s Boston-Haifa Connection, the Haifa municipality, and the Jewish Distribution Committee. Through this new initiative, Dina attended a parenting course and is receiving a series of in-home visits with a mentor who is helping her find new ways to teach, nurture and connect with her daughter.

Make a Bigger Difference

By focusing intensively on at-risk families with young children, Parents at the Center helps raise healthy children who are prepared to succeed in school. Services include prenatal education, classes, in-home mentoring and training for social workers and teachers.

“Now I have a place to ask my parenting questions,” says Dina. “I want to thank all the friends from Boston who help sustain Parents at the Center.”

With your support, we can bring this successful model to scale in Haifa and eventually expand the program throughout Israel.