(IsraelNN.com) A new "students in distress" hotline service has been opened for overseas students spending a year in Israel.  The service, named Eye Squad, was launched this Friday, founded by Aaron S. Tirschwell, Director of Israel Operations for the National Council of Young Israel.

Eye Squad says its goal is to "assist the 7,500 North Americans and other Anglos who spend a year in Israel," providing a "confidential, independent hotline for those who are experiencing any type of distress."  The number in Israel to call is *9111, and parents in the U.S. and Canada can reach the Eye Squad service by dialing toll-free 866-550-4EYE.

Eye Squad members manning the phones engage the young adult callers, helping them to realize that they are not alone, and that there is a non-judgmental, impartial person outside the school/program who will listen confidentially, empathize and give constructive advice. In case of emergency, the service is available even on the Sabbath.

The *9111 number is provided and serviced by the Flat Planet company, headed by Moshe Maeir, which set up the system in a short time using a sophisticated telephone system based on IP technology. 

The establishment of Eye Squad followed months of planning and meeting with educators, therapists, students, parents and heads of schools, as well as fundraising and overcoming logistical problems. 

Publicity
Posters advertising the Eye Squad will be hung on billboards all over Jerusalem and on school info boards.  In addition, on Saturday night, March 1, the Eye Squad will take over the Jerusalem branch of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and offer each student who registers a free gourmet coffee drink and a chance to win prizes. Eye Squad staff will be making the rounds, introducing themselves and handing out Eye Squad pens and the like.  

Eye Squad personnel have also begun meeting with the teachers and heads of the various programs that cater to post high school teens from the Diaspora.

Founder Tirschwell has worked with Jewish teens and post-high school students around the world, having served as Director of Youth and Outreach Services at Yeshiva University's Max Stern Division of Communal Services and other similar positions. He graduated Yeshiva College, received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, and earned a Master of Public Administration degree from New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service.

The Eye Squad program is coordinated by Adina Bloomberg, an 11-year-veteran of youth service and informal education in National Council of Synagogue Youth, a former teacher at the Margolin Hebrew Academy in Memphis, Tennessee, and counselor at Machon Maayan for girls in Beit Shemesh. 

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