About Beit T'Shuvah
Although Beit T'Shuvah celebrates its 16th anniversary this year, its roots go much deeper. It is an outgrowth of a non-profit organization called the Jewish Committee for Personal Service or JCPS, started in 1921 by a group of rabbis and Jewish leaders in San Francisco. Its mission was to provide social services to Jews in California mental hospitals – more... and prisons. In 1961 with a donation from a grateful JCPS client, Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center was created. JCPS continued as a program of Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center.
Harriet Rossetto joined the staff of JCPS in 1984. She was soon frustrated by the cycle of recidivism and the absence of any resources to help the offender re-enter the community. An article by Dr. Abraham Twerski, Judaism and the Twelve Steps, inspired her vision of a home for Jewish ex-cons and addicts that integrated Jewish spirituality and the 12 Step principles of recovery.
In 1987, with a grant from FEMA and a loan from the Jewish Community Foundation, Gateways Hospital bought an old house at 216 South Lake Street in Los Angeles and opened the doors of Beit T'Shuvah. The original mission was to provide transitional living and reentry services to Jewish men being released from jails and prisons.
The program has broadened in scope over the years to reach out to Jews many of whom have had no legal problems but who are struggling with a wide range of addictive behaviors. As the program grew so did the waiting list and the dream of a new facility that could accommodate more people, including women, and provide adequate space for group meetings and religious services.
A core of prominent Los Angeles volunteers who would later become the founding Board of Directors of Beit T'Shuvah embarked on a capital campaign. Through the personal generosity and dedication of these volunteers over 5 million dollars were raised to purchase and renovate a new facility.
On November 10, 1999 Beit T'Shuvah moved with 34 residents into a beautiful campus at 8831 Venice Boulevard. Today we have over 100 residents! In addition, over 2500 community members participate in Beit T'Shuvah spiritual and educational programs per year! Our hope of having adequate space for group meetings and religious services has been realized.
On August 27, 2001 Beit T'Shuvah became an independent agency. After 16 years of benefiting from the guidance and support of Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center, Beit T'Shuvah is now its own entity - and a constituent agency of the Jewish Federation.
Although Beit T'Shuvah continues to grow, we are a home forever for all recovering addicts and their families, whether they have gone through our program or not. – less – More from ZoomInfo »
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