Stories of Impact
Shalom Bayit Promotes Healthy Relationships
Meet our grantee partners who are turning vision into action: advancing justice, inclusion, and accountability across the Jewish communal landscape.
Shalom Bayit is the Bay Area’s center for domestic violence prevention and response within the Jewish community. They promote peaceful homes and families, teach skills for healthy relationships, and work to build a safe, vibrant Jewish community that is free from violence and abuse.
For over two decades, Shalom Bayit has been a trusted voice on gender-based violence in the Jewish community. In 2024, with the launch of their WE COMMIT initiative, they sought to empower Jewish survivors of workplace and interpersonal sexual violence to make positive life changes and make Jewish communal spaces safe and respectful places for women to work.
Receiving a 2024 field building grant from SRE Network enabled Shalom Bayit to expand its reach and deepen its impact through education, consultation, crisis support, and public advocacy to thousands across the Bay Area and beyond.
Highlights from the grant:
- Healthy Relationship Trainings: Shalom Bayit facilitated 80+ educational experiences and workshops to 2,000+ youth and adults on topics ranging from healthy relationships, consent culture, bystander intervention, harassment prevention, and more.
- One male training participant said, “I learned that respecting a 'no' and having an ongoing conversation is key. Using your voice is a good way to defend your boundaries.”
- Sermon Campaign: Organized a sermon campaign that inspired seven major congregations to deliver sermons addressing domestic violence awareness and prevention.
- Clergy Training: Provided training to 23 rabbis on responding to financial abuse as a tool in gender-based violence.
- Post-October 7th Advocacy: Following October 7th, Shalom Bayit responded courageously by hosting screenings and public programs calling attention to the horrific sexual violence used as a tool of war against Israelis.
- Policy Development: Encouraged several synagogues to develop clear sexual abuse prevention and response policies.
- Professional Consultation: Provided support and guidance to 21 clergy and Jewish professionals facing situations of abuse, helping them identify best practices for safety and healing.
Going forward, Shalom Bayit will continue to expand its training and education offerings, advance anti-harassment policy adoption across synagogues, and support Jewish survivors and professionals.
At a time marked by deep pain and polarization, we are so grateful that Shalom Bayit has remained a steady, trusted voice, committed to building a communal culture of safety, dignity, and respect.
SRE Network mobilizes Jewish organizations to achieve gender equity and cultivate inclusive workplaces and communal spaces where all individuals can thrive and drive change. As a network of over 185 Jewish organizations, we are working towards a communal landscape that is safe, respectful, and equitable, where every individual thrives and organizations can achieve their missions.
Photos courtesy of Shalom Bayit staff.