[RBS] Parents' Forum, Round Tables, Task Force, Parent Patrols - what are they all????

[Phil'n'Chanie Rosenfelder]

Since I have been advertising a variety of events, activities and other
information about several related topics, I am now goign to attempt to
clear up the confusion

1.  Eli Cohen, who is runnign for mayro of Beit Shemesh, has already
created the infrastructure for the changes that this city needs.  Together
with dedicated volunteers, Eli has opened ten task Forces, who are holding
open meetings, "round table"-style, in order to hear what people need and
want from their city in various areas of life.
 I am involved with the Education task force.   We are having our next
meeting IYH this Thrusday at 8pm at my house.   Please let me know if you
are coming, so that we have enough chairs out.

2.  The Parents' Forums for children with special needs were created
recently by the Special Needs department of the BS Chain of Matnasim,
headed by Avital.   At this point, there are two functioning forums (?),
one for children with mental challenges, and one for children with autism
spectrum disorders on any level of functioning.  These groups are run by an
Organizational Counsellor, Uri Assayag, and in these forums, the parents,
social workers and education dept workers are working together to meet
needs of the children involved.   The ASD group is closing its doors to new
joiners after tomorrow's meeting (8pm, Meyerhoff) , but this will be a
model that will hopefully be replicated many times.....

3.  The Parent Patrols (run by the Cities Without Violence national
program) are made up of groups of  3-5 parents at a time, who walk around
the various neighbourhoods late at night (2-3 hours, once a month)   to
keep an eye on the kids, and mainly to be a listening ear for any youth in
distress.   We are trained in how to communicate with the youth (which has
been invaluable for our own families as well), and BH we have made some
good relationships with some children, and also helped several kids get
into school / work situations that are good for them.
We are very short on volunteers, (for example, in RBS A there are fewer
than 50 volunteers from an adult population of several thousand).
 Volunteers need not speak Hebrew, as there are kids out there who speak
English  too.
We are NOT police, and we are not involved in any form of law enforcement.
That said, the law of Obligation to Report is a law that applies to
everyone -
 any person who SEES OR SUSPECTS
abuse
OR
suicidal thoughts / behaviours
 OR
a plan to hurt another person
 IS OBLIGATED BY LAW to report this.
One may report to the police OR to the social services.
To join the sayeret horim, please contact David Semana at
semana211 at hotmail.com ,050-7451729

4.  The Beit Shsmesh Parenting School is another part of  the Cities
Without Violence national program.   The school offers  lectures, courses,
workshops and support groups for parents - in several languages.  All
programming is heavily subsidized, to ensure that anyone who wants to can
participate.  For information, please contact Shlomi Revivo at משרד
:טל':02-9909855 . פקס: 02-9909773
נייד : 052-3426033


thththththat's all, folks
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