Helen Rabkin - Support those Affected by Addiction

Welcome to my Mightycause page!  I am Helen, a member of the Jewish Teen Foundation (JTF) South Board!

JTF is a philanthropic leadership program of the Jewish Community Federation, a group of teens dedicated to helping the world. I joined JTF because I wanted to contribute to the world and help others, and by donating to this page you can to the same! At JTF, we work together to come to consensus on which population to learn about, spread awareness of the issues they face, vet relevant nonprofit organizations, and ultimately award impactful mission and values-aligned grants! 

Our mission statement this year is:

The Jewish Teen Foundation South Board is committed to supporting those affected by substance addiction through organizations/initiatives that provide education and rehabilitation services to create and sustain positive change for individuals and families.

We decided to focus on addiction because of how much this is a misunderstood community, and how addiction can lead to negatively affecting almost all aspects of someone’s life. Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder, and is not because of a lack of morals or will power, as commonly stigmatized. The factors that lead people to addiction are genetics (the family history of addiction), environmental cueing, stress, and mental health.

Some statistics I was shocked to learn were:

- There have been 700k drug overdose deaths in the US since 2000

- 16.5% of the US population struggle with substance about, which is 46.3 million people age 12 and over

- Addiction burns out the pleasure center and causes a tolerance and dependency to grow for the substance 

- Withdrawal symptoms can range from flu-like symptoms to seizure-like activity and can also lead to mental health issues

Together, we can help make our community a better, safer place! Please donate today.  Every donation will go to nonprofits working to support people in recovery and to decrease addiction rates in general. Some ways to support people struggling with substance abuse include funding rehab facilities, reconnecting families, and educating yourself and communities about how addiction starts, what people struggling with addiction needs, how to recognize signs, and how to help your loved ones through recovery. We are working with different organizations in the field to accomplish this, so you can rest assured our donation will go to carefully researched nonprofits.

Feel free to explore the links below to learn more about this topic!

https://drugabusestatistics.org/

https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/addiction-science/drugs-brain-behavior-science-of-addiction

Thank you so much for your time and generous donation!!