“We started small, helping victims get to resources and hoping to connect them with mental health professionals and to spread the word,” said Shapiro. “We are putting together an app that will prevent, protect and educate people around the world.”
Shapiro noted that JCW offers a variety of services to those who seek out its assistance.
“When someone reaches out to us, we have a case manager who listens and discusses what they will need,” explained Shapiro. “It could be resources. It could be connecting someone to a therapist. It could be paying for therapists or even just having a friendly ear that is willing to listen.”
JCW also has an investigative team that in certain cases confronts abusers in an effort to bring closure to victims. Shapiro said that in the past four years JCW has confronted over 150 abusers.
“A lot of abusers don’t realize that what they are doing is wrong, although some do,” noted Shapiro. “The ones that know it is wrong are easier to confront which hopefully brings closure to the victim, when the abuser acknowledges that what they did was wrong. Unfortunately, there are some who turn their backs and just walk away from us.”
Shapiro said that none of the confrontations have ever turned physical.
“Most of the time abusers aren’t violent,” said Shapiro. “They are either unemotional abusers or they feel like they haven’t done anything wrong.”
Since its inception, JCW has also counseled molesters.
“We have had abusers reach out to us, looking not just for mental therapy and services but also how to get closure for themselves, by publicly apologizing or seeking out some way of repentance,” said Shapiro.
Most of those on JCW’s staff are former abuse victims.
“Go back a few years and there was no one to talk to if you were abused,” said Shapiro. “We want victims and their families to know that there are places to go and people that will help you.”
It is the feedback from victims that is most gratifying for Seewald.
“There was one girl who was eleven when she was abused and her abuser was already on our list of people to look into,” said Seewald. “JCW empowered her and connected her with other survivors, which helped her go to the police She sent me a text message saying that she feels like a thousand pound weight has been lifted off her shoulders.”
To find out more about JCW visit them online at www.jewishcommunitywatch.org.