Amudim is well known throughout Baltimore, having helped 181 families with issues including domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, child sexual abuse and therapy referrals since first opening its doors in 2015. Several community members approached Amudim about doing a fundraiser in Baltimore to raise funds to help locals in crisis, and the parlor meeting was hosted by Aron and Ariella Dinovitz, Levi and Lolly Friedman, Tzvi and Chaya Friedman, Yanky and Rochel Katz, Shua and Stefanie Landau.

The event was held in the Pikesville home of Levi and Lolly Friedman, and among those in attendance was Maryland State Delegate Dalya Attar. Attar praised Amudim for its compassionate care that helps Baltimore residents in a video shown at the parlor meeting, and noted that Amudim did not hesitate to send staff from out of state to share their experience at a Narcan event that she organized to help local community members who were struggling with opioid addiction.  Also present was TA’s Rabbi Avi Landa, who is the program coordinator and curriculum writer for Amudim’s Darcheinu, a comprehensive Social Emotional Learning program that gives yeshiva and Bais Yaakov students the skills they need to avoid the many dangers that lurk in today’s world.   Darcheinu is already in use at TA and Bais Yaakov of Baltimore, as well as in many other schools throughout North America, and Rabbi Landa gave an overview of how the curriculum empowers children and promotes self-esteem and positive social skills, key elements in preventing kids from becoming victims.  

Amudim CEO Zvi Gluck spoke about the different components of abuse, addiction and mental health.  He noted that while Amudim may be New York-based, it helped 75 families from the Baltimore community in 2021 with an operating cost for case service management of $130,000, an amount which does not include therapy subsidies.

“Unfortunately, there is no community today that is immune to these terrible problems and we are continuing to do all that we can to change lives and build futures,” said Gluck.  “We want to let Baltimore know that Amudim is Baltimore and Baltimore is Amudim.”

While many of those who attended the parlor meeting were already well acquainted with Amudim, others knew only of the extensive travel assistance that it provided during the pandemic.  The parlor meeting gave them an opportunity to understand the wider breadth of Amudim’s work and to support its efforts, explained Tzvi Friedman.

“For years whenever we have had a crisis, we turned to Amudim,” said Friedman.  “Amudim has become the national address for anyone needing emergency assistance and they continue to do terrific work in Baltimore and beyond.”

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