Gesher Campus Care

Support Gesher Campus Care!

Gesher Campus Care's mission is to connect Jewish college students and faculty to safe, supportive, and culturally competent therapists. We will help this community access mental health services seamlessly and ensure that financial limitations do not prevent anyone from receiving the support they need.

Over the past 16 months, we've learned that Jews facing antisemitism and discrimination on campus urgently need individual therapeutic care. According to the ADL, 83.2% of Jewish college students surveyed have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since the October, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. And, 92.5% of these students stated that they did not report the antisemitism they witnessed or experienced to their university. Of the students that did report, only 43.9% were offered mental health support by their school. Even worse, almost 1/3 of students in the ADL's study report being told by non-Jewish students and faculty what does or does not constitute antisemitism.

As a result of this extreme surge of antisemitism combined with little campus support, students are reporting symptoms of anxiety and trauma, as well as feeling unsafe with friends, faculty, and on campus in general. This lack of emotional safety is sadly occuring in therapeutic consultations as well, given the increased adherence to "decolonizing therapy" practices in mental health spaces. While there are many Jewish therapists, there is no way to know if they are competent and willing to hold a safe space for vulnerable Jewish and Zionist patients.

This is why Gesher is partnering with experts to train therapists in Jewish cultural competence as well as how to treat acute trauma as it relates to identity-related discrimination. Funding will be used to train our therapists, cover costs for clients who have need for therapy subsidization, marketing and PR strategy, materials, and outreach, and to maintain the organization's day-to-day functions. We are in partnership with many legacy non-profit Jewish organizations, startups in the college antisemitism space and other mental health groups providing related, yet different levels of interventions.

We are prepared to hit the ground running and begin helping our students as soon as possible.

Your support will allow us to reach Jewish students and faculty across the country that urgently need our help.