Footsteps

Footsteps is a not-for-profit organization based in New York City that provides educational, vocational, and social support to people who have left or want to leave a Haredi or Hasidic Jewish community in the United States. Mission According to its website, Footsteps provides educational, vocational, professional, social, and legal support to those seeking to enter or explore the world beyond the insular ultra-Orthodox communities in which they were raised. Some people from the Haredi and Hasidic communities who choose to enter mainstream America may feel like "cultural immigrants". They may face cultural disorientation and isolation, coupled with a lack of practical and marketable skills. Founded in December 2003, Footsteps aims to assist individuals who choose to make this transition. Individuals frequently refer to themselves as "off the derech", or OTD, reclaiming the dismissive term given to leavers by members of the ultra-Orthodox communities they have left. History Footsteps was founded in December 2003, by Malkie Schwartz, a former Chabad Hasid from Crown Heights, while enrolled as a student at Hunter College in New York City. According to Schwartz, 20 people showed up to the first meeting, announced on flyers around the Hunter campus and through word of mouth. Footsteps began as an informal social group, and soon developed an educational study group and a sex education and relationships group, members finding they had been denied access to basic sex education instruction within the Haredi community. As the organization grew, it became a 501(c) non-profit, with a broad remit of support and education for ex-Haredi Jews. Footsteps can also provide counseling, and has partnered with New York Legal Assistance Group to provide legal assistance and advice in divorce and custody cases.