NORTHEAST FLORIDA JEWISH LIFE
JFCS SAVED MY LIFE: A SURVIVOR STORY
By Donna O'Steen, Jewish Family & Community Services
The following personal story was written by a current JFCS client. Her name has been withheld to protect her privacy.
As a former victim of human sexual trafficking, there were moments when I didn’t believe I would survive. I was “purchased” more times than I can count by the highest bidder for that day.
I was at the lowest place in my life and getting addicted to drugs seemed inevitable. After being identified by the Department of Children and Families as a child who had been sexually and commercially trafficked, I was immediately put into traditional foster care. Having never known what being a part of a family felt like, and feeling as though I’d never been truly loved at any time in my life, I did what past trauma taught me to
do—I ran away. I spent the first few months trying to run back to the life that had been my reality for so long. Ironically, getting arrested and placed on probation by the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and put in the care of Jewish Family & Community Services was the best thing that could have happened to me. I was forced to face all of the disappointment, neglect, rejection, abuse, and trauma that I experienced throughout my life. And it brought healing that transformed my life completely. I entered and successfully completed a program for sexually exploited children. Through my therapy sessions with Dupont Counseling Group, and working with my JFCS case manager I eventually realized that my rights had been violated. But it was my responsibility to
change my narrative from traumatic to triumphant. At this point in my life I consider myself to be very fortunate. I didn’t know how many more birthdays I would live to see, but I will soon be celebrating my 18th birthday with my amazing foster family. Every day they show me what it means to be a part of a loving family and for the first time in my life I am looking forward to my future. I want to help people the way JFCS helped me. I want people to know that people like me, who have a troubled history, are neither broken nor defeated. I want everyone to know that healing creates wonderful new beginnings. And when you least expect it, you will meet people who are willing to help you reclaim your life and thrive on your journey.
MEDITATION FOR THE MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT
By Gail Greenfield, NESHAMA/The Jewish Meditation Community of Jacksonville
Many of us feel as though we are constantly under pressure. Whether the pressure is real or imagined, our health suffers, and our thinking becomes reactive and confused. With an increasing number of individuals taking anti– anxiety or antidepressant medications or struggling to
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keep an even keel during this unprecedented time of economic and political turmoil, compounded with a world pandemic, it seems more important than ever to think about ways to take responsibility for our own lives and bodies. It is possible to care for our mind, body and spirit and to do so within a Jewish meditation practice. There is evidence that meditation practices within Judaism have been around since the time of the
Patriarchs, and there is substantial documentation of meditation in 13th century Hasidism, as well as subsequent movements throughout the centuries. Jewish meditation made a resurgence in the mid-20th century, especially through the work of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, who assembled a practical guide for meditation within a Jewish context, and developed tools to develop our spiritual potential and enhance our prayer practice
through traditional Jewish liturgy. A small but thriving Jewish meditation community exists here in Jacksonville. Together, individuals learn appropriate techniques for stress reduction within a positive and Jewish environment, and the first time a Virtual Jewish Spirituality Retreat within the Jacksonville community is being planned for November 8. For more information, contact Gail Greenfield at gailsgreenfield@gmail.com.
