Chai Lifeline, WJCS Partners in Caring, Collaborate to Help Scarsdale Community Cope with Crisis

When tragedy struck Scarsdale over Shabbos Hagadol with the loss of Rabbi Jacob S. and Deborah Rubenstein, the bereft community turned both inward and outward to mourn their loss. A collaborative partnership between the Young Israel of Scarsdale; Project C.H.A.I., a Bellows National Crisis Intervention program of Chai Lifeline; Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) Partners in Caring (PIC); and Westchester Day School and Westchester Hebrew High School enabled the community to come to terms with a terrible and sudden loss and to help affected children respond to the magnitude of their raw emotions.

"The death of Rabbi and Rebbetzin Rubenstein reverberated throughout the community,” remarked Rabbi Simcha Scholar, executive vice president, Chai Lifeline. "By Shabbos morning, the community literally was in shock. The immediate, sustained support of Chai Lifeline, WJCS, and mental health professionals from within the community was crucial if community members young and old were to be able to deal with the tragedy."

Chai Lifeline's Project C.H.A.I. (Chizuk, Healing, and Intervention), whose professionals and trained lay leaders have helped hundreds of communities throughout North America cope with crisis and tragedy, was asked to participate in planning and executing the community-wide response. "Our goal, as professionals trained in grief, bereavement, and crisis counseling, was to enhance and augment the community’s already substantial resources. The collaborative nature of the intervention enabled members of the community to get immediate, sustained, and effective assistance,” said Norman Blumenthal, Ph.D., director of Project C.H.A.I. and Chai Lifeline's crisis intervention and bereavement services.

Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern, assistant rabbi of the Young Israel of Scarsdale, and Debbie Schrag, MSW, a Young Israel of Scarsdale congregant and a WJCS social worker, spearheaded the initial response, reaching out to Chai Lifeline, community institutions, and professionals from within the community to ensure that local schools and synagogues would have the support they needed to assimilate their loss and move forward.

"Both Rabbi and Rebbetzin Rubenstein really reached out to the community's children and had very positive relationships with them," remarked Sandy Kellogg, LCSW, a WJCS clinical social worker and Jewish family life educator. Ms. Kellogg is the WJCS liaison to the Young Israel of Scarsdale through PIC, a WJCS program sponsored by UJA Federation that assigns clinical social workers to individual synagogues throughout Westchester.

Because of the Rubensteins’ close ties to the community's children, crisis intervention sessions were held at Westchester Day School and Westchester Hebrew High School in addition to the Young Israel of Scarsdale.

"On the first school day following the Rubensteins’ funeral, Project C.H.A.I. met with Westchester Hebrew High School's administration, the freshman and senior grades, who had the largest number of Scarsdale students, Westchester Day School's sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, and small groups of students who were seriously impacted by the tragedy," detailed Andy Lauber, LMSW, social worker, Chai Lifeline. "Many of the students with whom we spoke were in crisis and appreciated the opportunity to explore their feelings. After our group sessions, we spoke individually with students who needed additional support."

Later that evening, Chai Lifeline and WJCS professionals held a meeting for the Young Israel of Scarsdale's adult congregants to address their grief and equip them to help their families assimilate the loss. Dr. Blumenthal began with a discussion of normative coping and the different responses community members can expect from themselves and their children. Afterwards, a question and answer session was run by Dr. Blumenthal, Ms. Kellogg, and Sherry Birnbaum, WJCS, director of Jewish Programming. "While we thought participants would be most concerned with questions for their children, the adults were asking questions about themselves and their own responses," commented Ms. Kellogg.

PIC led a group session for the Young Israel of Scarsdale's teenagers, followed by small support groups for the community the week following the event.

"Chai Lifeline and WJCS are committed to helping the community through this difficult time," commented Rabbi Scholar. “We will continue to do whatever is necessary to help children and adults through the grieving and healing processes.”