RUACH Support is a Jewish project that provides nondenominational and inclusive emotional and spiritual (virtual) support that is accessible wherever you are physically, emotionally, financially, or spiritually. RUACH aspires to bridge the gap between emotional and spiritual support, offering a holistic approach to wellness.
RUACH Support and all RUACH volunteers uphold and subscribe to our core values, which can be expressed as the following tenets:
Pluralism: Every client has their own views, practices, and beliefs and we will treat each one with dignity and respect.
Equity: Individuals of all lifestyles and experiences will be welcomed, including those marginalized in other Jewish spaces.
Accessibility: We strive to provide support to all individuals, regardless of disability status, age, or mode of communication.
Collaboration: We believe there exists a bridge between emotional and spiritual care and value collaboration among professionals across fields.
Community: It is our responsibility as a Jewish community to serve all those who are seeking support in a time of crisis.
RUACH Support is a Jewish project that provides nondenominational and inclusive emotional and spiritual (virtual) support that is accessible wherever you are physically, emotionally, financially, or spiritually. RUACH aspires to bridge the gap between emotional and spiritual support, offering a holistic approach to wellness.
Emotional support providers work with people who have underlying mental health issues. When someone is experiencing trauma, sadness, stress, grief, confusion, anxiety, or depression, these feelings may impede their internal state of being and their relationship with others and may even exacerbate their mental health. RUACH supporters offer emotional support by listening actively and asking questions, validating the person’s experience, and empathically offering encouragement and reassurance. This approach assists the person in coming to a better understanding of their situation, developing better strategies for coping, and increasing resilience and hope.
Spiritual support providers work with people in discovering their personal meaning on the journey of life. RUACH providers explore forgiveness, guilt, shame, joy, identity, and meaning. They also assist with trauma, life transitions, grief and loss, illness, and relationships. Spiritual support providers also create rituals, which can be helpful to mark transitions, loss, and milestones. They use techniques of deep listening, prayer, text study, and/or creating a spiritual practice which can aid in healing. Spiritual support providers meet the person where they are and walk with them in their joy, pain, sorrow, and fear.
RUACH believes in the integration of emotional and spiritual support. This is a holistic approach that involves treating the whole person, considering how an individual’s beliefs, values, behaviors, emotions, and experiences can foster feelings of wholeness, healing, meaning, and purpose. In addition to helping people relieve symptoms and reduce stress, we assist those that we support in feeling empowered and cultivating inner resources. Above all, we view each person as unique, meet them where they are in their healing process, and walk with them along their journey. We recognize that spiritual and religious beliefs and practices may or may not play a crucial role in the way some people cope with pain, illness, and distress.
RUACH recognizes that the LGBTQIA+ community is one of the most under-addressed demographics when it comes to both mental health and spiritual care in the Jewish community. We hope to eliminate or mitigate some of the barriers that may impact LGBTQIA+ individuals from being able to seek support in their own communities. We have supporters with expertise in LGBTQIA+ community to aid those whose main reason for seeking support is related to their gender identity or sexual preference
RUACH’s core team members have been passionate about emotional and spiritual advocacy, support, and education for many years, and, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, noticed that the needs of the community were exacerbated in the time of uncertainty.
This increased need catalyzed them to come together to create a volunteer network of therapists, social workers, clergy, chaplains, and providers-in-training which offer short term support, aiming to guide individuals through moments of difficulty, and when necessary connect them to long-term resources in the community. RUACH embodies the core values of inclusive and accessible care, as well as honouring the experience of every individual.
RUACH Support is proud to partner with the following organizations comitted to making mental health services more accessible.