Shalom Bayit

 Shalom Bayit creates peace in the place that matters most: at home. Founded in 1992 as Northern California’s first Jewish domestic violence program, Shlaom Bayit continues to work toward eradicating domestic violence in the Jewish community. Shalom Bayit is seeking to shift attitudes that perpetuate domestic violence and transform the Jewish communal conversation from one of denial and revictimization to one of justice and communal conversation. Shalom Bayit works to support and advocate on behalf of Jewish battered women and their children; to educate the Jewish community and its leadership about domestic violence; to empower Jewish youth with the knowledge and skills they need to make healthy relationship choices; to organize effective abuse prevention and intervention strategies; and to improve Jewish women’s access to domestic violence services. 

Shalom Bayit creates effective, culturally based strategies to improve Jewish community accountability and response to domestic violence. Each year, Shalom Bayit works directly with abuse victims, organizes and trains clergy and communal professionals, builds coalitions, and convenes public awareness and prevention programs. It also runs Love Shouldn’t Hurt, a youth program that educates 1,000 Jewish teens every year about healthy relationships. In the Bay Area, Shalom Bayit manages joint programming with 12 Jewish day schools, four local Hillels, three Jewish Federations, dozens of synagogues, and many community groups and independent organizations. More than 80 rabbis publicly endorse its work as members of the Rabbinic Advisory Council. Shalom Bayit insists that Jewish women’s safety and empowerment be a communal focus to make “Shalom in every home” a right and reality for all.