Suicide Hotline: 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)
Jewish 24/7 Hotline: (305) 576-6550
Additional options here: http://www.pleaselive.org/hotlines/
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 | 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)
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