The Hebrew National Orphan Home: Memories Of Orphanage Life [Hardcover]

Some two dozen boys tell of growing up in the Hebrew National Orphan Home. Though punishment was often brutal and where a few boys were victims of sexual predators, residents had many religious, recreational, educational, cultural, and athletic opportunities. Most agree that the good far outweighed the bad.

Orphanage horror stories of the 19th and early 20th centuries brought on the modern welfare system that includes foster-care programs. Yet as effective as the foster-care programs throughout the nation have been in providing good care and safety for many hundreds of thousands of children, there are still far too many youngsters who have been ill-served by these programs. Many are shunted from place to place. The authors argue that well-run orphanages offer a better solution. Their essays tell the story of The Home that reared them and provides understanding of what life in an orphanage was like.

IRA A. GREENBERG is Executive Director of the Group Hypnosis Center, Los Angeles, a clinical psychologist, and a business coach.

RICHARD G. SAFRAN is an educational consultant in New York City.

SAM GEORGE ARCUS is Coordinator, Long-Term Care Advocacy Program, Pima Council on Aging, Tucson.

Preface
Prologue
Introduction: Our Asylum
Life in The Home
History and Personal Stories
Precipitating Factors and the Dark Side
Secular Education and Religious Orthodoxy
Humanitarian Giants
We Knew Them Well
As Others See It
Conclusion: The Need
Appendices
Bibliography
Index