Domestic violence fund assists children of abuse: Audrey Gaelen gift supports expansion of JFS services
From the New Jersey Jewish News on October 5, 2011
By Johanna Ginsburg, NJJN Staff Writer

Founded to address the needs of battered women, the Rachel Coalition has received a $100,000 endowment to enhance the quality of life of their children.

The Audrey Gaelen Rachel Coalition Children’s Services Fund will underwrite a range of activities and services for children exposed to domestic violence, from after-school activities to summer programs, meant to augment the therapy and other services already provided by the coalition.

The gift, received in July and named in honor of its donor, is part of an expansion of services offered by Jewish Family Service of MetroWest and its affiliated Rachel Coalition, both beneficiary agencies of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ.

“For years we saw only the victims of domestic violence, not children,” said JFS executive director Reuben Rotman in a meeting at the new office space in Livingston that will be used primarily for children’s and adolescent services.

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