Film "Narrow Bridge" Being Shown in Baltimore and Washington, DC

FREE SCREENING of the Film NARROW BRIDGE:
Confronting Sexual Abuse in the Jewish Community
Seating is Limited - Reservations Required!

• Washington, DC
  
  
• Baltimore, MD

There are two opportunities to catch the controversial, acclaimed film "Narrow Bridge", which has been making waves in the Orthodox Jewish community. it is the first film of its kind to break the silence on the issue of sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community.

Following the film there will be a panel of experts in the field of sexual abuse to answer questions.

These events are sponsored by The Awareness Center, Inc., (the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault). For more information call: 443-857-5560 or send an e-mail to vickipolin @ aol.com.

December 18th - Washington, DC Panel will include:

• Vicki Polin, MA, NCC, LCPC - Founder and Executive Director, The Awareness Center, Inc.
• Nicole Jalazo, MSW, LCSW - Childhelp USA, Experienced working with survivors, including sexually reactive children.
• Murray Levin, JD - Photographer, Survivor of Child Sexual Abuse, and Advocate for Legislative Changes.
• Bob Russell - Legislative Coordinator, SNAP-MD (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)
• Rachel Steamer, JD - Attorney who specializes in representing survivors of child sexual abuse.

January 2nd - Baltimore Panel will include:

• Mesa Leventhal Baker, MD - Medical Director, Baltimore Child Abuse Center
• Murray Levin, JD - Photographer, Survivor of Child Sexual Abuse, and Advocate for legislative changes.
• Vicki Polin, MA, NCC, LCPC - Executive Director, The Awareness Center, Inc.
• Bob Russell - Legislative Coordinator, SNAP-MD (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)
• Joyanna Silberg, PhD - Coordinator of Trauma Disorder Services for Children at Sheppard Pratt Hospital.

Panel Members Bio:

Mesa Leventhal Baker, MD
Dr. Baker is on the advisory board of The Awareness Center. She has been board certified in pediatrics since 1991 and a Fellow of the AAP since 1994. She has held Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatric posts with the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda and the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu. She is currently an Associate Professor in Pediatrics with the University of Maryland and a Special Consultant in Child Abuse to Sinai Hospital.

After working in private pediatrics and forensic pediatrics part-time for a year, Dr. Baker became the Medical Director of the Baltimore Child Abuse Center in 1998. For the past 6 years at the Baltimore Child Abuse Center, Dr. Baker has seen 600-700 children per year, to reach a total of well over 3000 forensic sexual abuse exams.


Nicole Jalazo, MSW, LCSW
Nicole Jalazo graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her Master’s of Social Work from The Smith College School of Social Work in Northampton, Massachusetts.

In the past Nicole has worked at Duke University Medical Center in the Mother-Baby Unit, High Risk Obstetrics Clinic, Post Partum Depression Support Group and practicing general outpatient therapy. She also worked at The Center for Child and Family Health, specializing in prevention, early intervention, research, and treatment of children whose lives are interfaced with the issues of maltreatment and mental health trauma.

After relocating to Charlotte, NC, Ms. Jalazo worked with sexually abused children and facilitated the Nurturing Parenting Program. She also served an agency representative to Pat's Place, which was a local child advocacy center.

Nicole relocated to New York where she worked as an outpatient psychotherapist with the Jewish Board of Family and Children Services. In June of 2006, Nicole began working for the Inova Kellar Center as a therapist with the Abused Children Treatment Services, working primarily with child survivors of sexual trauma. In August of this year Nicole joined the mental health team at Childhelp Children’s Center of Virginia in Fairfax, Virginia continuing her work with child survivors of sexual abuse and also has a private practice.


Murray Levin, JD
Murray Levin is a well known photographer in the Baltimore Jewish community. He is also a survivor of clergy sexual abuse. After 52 years, Mr. Levin finally had the courage to share his story with the Baltimore Jewish Times article, "Baltimore Confronts Sexual Abuse in Rabbinate". Since going public Murray has testified at the Senate committee hearing in Annapolis, Maryland and also at the hearing at the Executive Office of the Mayor - Council of the District of Columbia, for the Childhood Sexual Abuse Prevention Amendment Act 2007. Murray also attended the media event at Cardozo Law School in September, 2007.

Vicki Polin, MA, LCPC, NCC, ATR-BC
Vicki Polin is the founder and executive director of The Awareness Center. Vicki is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in the state of Illinois and is a Board Certified Art Therapist.

In the past Vicki has qualified as an expert witness and provided testimony in juvenile court on cases related to childhood sexual abuse and neglect. She has presented educational and experiential seminars to community groups, universities, and at professional conferences on both a local and national level. Vicki served as a board member of several different not-for-profit organizations, which included VOICES in Action, Inc and Alternative Behavior Treatment Centers: For Juvenile Sex Offenders and Sexually Reactive Youth). Vicki also served on the planning committee of Jewish Women International (JWI) 2nd International Conference on Domestic Abuse.


Bob Russell
Bob Russell is the Legislative Coordinator of SNAP-MD (Survivors Network of Abusive Priests). Bob first disclosed publicly that he was molested by a Catholic priest as a child in July, 2001. To his credit, Mr. Russell became the force behind his school publicly apologizing for allowing the victimization to occur and also disclosing their role in covering up sex crimes. Bob also made sure that his school contacted every student that attended between the years of 1969-1973, in an effort to find other survivors. Back on March 6, 2005, Bob Russell's story was told in the Baltimore Sun's article: "After Decades of Silence Pain, a Victim Resolves to Stop Running from 'It".

Bob's activism continues to this very day by coordinating the legislative movement in Maryland to abolish the statute of limitations or granting "windows legislation" regarding the civil laws that govern child sexual abuse.


Joyanna Silberg, Ph.D.
Dr. Silberg is the Coordinator of Trauma Disorder Services for Children at Sheppard Pratt Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and past president for the International Society for the Study of Dissociation. In addition to her role as a clinician, Dr. Silberg is an Associate Editor for The Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, and sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Trauma Practice.

Dr. Silberg is the recipient of the Walter P. Klopfer Award, 1992, for outstanding research contribution and the Cornelia Wilbur Award, 1997, for clinical excellence. She is the co-editor of the book Misinformation Concerning Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Survivors (Haworth Press, 2002). She has presented at 100s of professional conferences and conducts training workshops around the world on the treatment of traumatized and dissociative children. She has authored approximately 20 professional articles and book chapters.


Rachel Steamer, JD, Esq.
Rachel Steamer is a lawyer who specializes in representing survivors of sexual abuse. Notably, as an associate at the law firm of Ross & Rubino, LLP, Rachel was involved in litigating more than 100 cases in coordinated proceedings against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Diocese of San Diego. A graduate of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University) in New York City, Rachel acted as chief research assistant to noted First Amendment scholar Professor Marci A. Hamilton, with whom she co-authored The Religious Origins of Disestablishment Principles, 81 N.D. L. Rev. 1755 (2006). Rachel is admitted to practice law in New York.