Family & Education
Helpline launched for Jewish students
JTeen is adding another service – JStudent – to provide campus support
March 3, 2025 12:43
JTeen is adding another service – JStudent – to provide campus support
March 3, 2025 12:43Award-winning helpline JTeen has announced that is launching the UK’s first helpline for Jewish students.
JStudent will run on a similar model to JTeen and offer confidential support to students up to the age of 24 through both traditional helpline and digital channels, including WhatsApp and text.
It comes at a time when 42 per cent of students experience serious personal, emotional, or mental health challenges, according to charity Mental Health UK, and CST reported a 117 per cent increase in antisemitic incidents on campus between 2022 and 2024.
Founder and CEO of JTeen, Yaakov Barr, told the JC: “There is no doubt that antisemitism on campus is a big issue, but we also shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that just being at university can be difficult. There is academic pressure, social issue and loneliness.
“Since October 7, these issues have all been exacerbated as a lot of students feel isolate and vulnerable, so there is a much greater need to have mental health support for Jewish students.”
Students will have access to volunteer counsellors and qualified therapists, who will have received specialist training on university-specific issues.
JStudent also plans to run on campus wellbeing workshops and Barr said that if they raised enough funds, the charity would like to arrange for therapists to visit different campuses on a weekly basis.
“A lot of students do feel the value of having cultural comfort and support, particularly after October 7,” he said.
In the past year, the charity, which was founded in 2020, has supported more than 900 young people, and since its founding, 350,000 anonymous text and WhatsApp messages have been exchanged.
Barr said: “Speaking to someone directly can achieve more, but we have to deal with the reality that young people find it difficult to reach out for support, so if texting and WhatsApp is what young people do, we have to find a way to make that work.”
Saul Kelly, JTeen trustee, said: “Every student deserves to feel safe, supported and heard. JStudent represents more than just a support service - it's a lifeline for Jewish students who may feel isolated in their struggles. We're not just offering help. We're building a community of support."
In November, JTeen won Helpline of the Year at the 2024 Helpline Awards.
Helplines Partnership praised JTeen for being one of the first support services in the UK to offer anonymous WhatsApp support.
JTeen is unusual in that it has therapists available to consult with and, when necessary, it can refer service users to them for further therapeutic care.
This vision was integral to the late John Cameron, JTeen’s lifetime patron and former head of NSPCC and Childline, who was instrumental to JTeen’s inception.
Barr said: “Therapists are available to address signs of early onset mental health challenges, such as eating disorders, to prevent them from becoming real issues.”
JStudent is now live and accessible to Jewish students across all UK universities
Students can access support through Text & WhatsApp support: 0786 006 5192
Click here for the website
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