Out from the cold, into the light

June 11, 2021

Participants at a Matan training session in Rochester, New York.

Josh was 8 years old when his parents sent him to Jewish summer camp for the first time. Even though he had issues like ADHD that made school challenging, they figured the informal, open environment of summer camp - together with a little extra care from staff - would enable him to find his place.

They were wrong. After just six days, he was sent home.

Meredith Englander Polsky, who had attended that same overnight camp throughout her childhood, was working there as a counselor that summer.

"I thought, is this really something that happens in the Jewish community," she wondered, "or did I j...

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