For Jewish young adults, Birthright is a whirlwind experience, where participants encounter the colors, music, smells, tastes, sites, and people of Israel, all packed into ten days. These college kids and recent graduates stretch their days to the limit, joining the daily scheduled sightseeing tours and hitting the bars and clubs at night. Since the drinking age in Israel is only 18, many American college students take advantage of their legal status in Israel to party hard. While this may be relatively harmless for the average college student, young adults at risk for substance abuse problems put themselves at even greater risk.
More than your typical Birthright experience
JACS runs a Sober Birthright trip twice a year for recovering addicts. The Sober Birthright trips are highly emotional and impactful. Many participants have struggled with alcoholism, opiates, addiction, and homelessness. They see their lives fall apart, enroll in treatment, and then go on Birthright. The result is a deeply meaningful experience. The trip is filled with an aura of gratitude and emotion. Participants say things like, “I never thought I’d be alive to come to Israel.” Besides the traditional sightseeing, Sober Birthright takes the group to recovery centers in Israel, where they meet people like themselves who have overcome addiction and rebuilt their lives. The program provides a high level of safety and support. In order to join a Sober Birthright trip, you must have been in recovery for at least three months.Retorno– a long-term option
If you participated in Sober Birthright and are looking for a longer sober Israel experience, or if you have never been to Israel and want a Jewish recovery program, contact Retorno today. Retorno is the largest Jewish organization in the world for the prevention and treatment of addictions. Retorno treats every kind of addiction and embraces a holistic approach combining the 12 Steps with a wide range of modalities for treating addiction, including group therapy, individual therapy, sponsoring, DBT, somatic experiencing, therapeutic horseback riding, animal-assisted therapy, and more. With these and other tools, our programs boast a high success rate in treating addiction of every kindShare this :
