What Is The Shofar Coalition?
The Shofar Coalition is a group of Baltimore-area Jewish community partners, convened and coordinated by the Sidran Institute. The coalition is made up of service agencies, both Jewish and secular, rabbis of all denominations, Jewish day schools, private practice therapists, survivors of trauma and their family members, advocacy organizations and lay community leaders. The name Shofar was chosen as a symbol of a community-wide call to action to recognize and address the traumatic effects of sexual, physical and emotional abuse on Jewish children, adolescents and adults. Rather than “re-invent the wheel,” the coalition’s approach is to better coordinate the rich programs already in place throughout the community and to introduce new programs only when gaps in services are identified. One such gap was identified by adult survivors of childhood sexual trauma themselves. During focus groups and numerous conversations with adult survivors, the need was clearly voiced for confidential groups
