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Community Advocacy (CA), established in 1993, is an Israeli NGO empowers people and communities, to enable them to protect and realize their social and economic rights. Community Advocacy has walk-in ‘Storefront' Advocacy Centres, in Jerusalem, Beer Sheva and Lod.
These centers promote the shared effort of people to change policy that perpetuates inequality, intolerance and exclusion. CA promotes community organization, enabling residents to join together to impact on social policy through their participation in public forums. CA disseminates information about social rights and entitlements, while also providing individual social and legal advocacy support, as well as Rights Education Outreach Programs. The organization strengthens people's ability as decisionmakers and helps to guarantee a more responsible, transparent and just society and government.
The newest CA centres are a Bir As-Seba storefront (2010), with a comprehensive program serving the Bedouin Community, which concentrates on rights to accessible health care, educational facilities and water. The Lod storefront, opened in 2007, works with residents in this mixed Jewish Arab city that grapples with many serious poverty issues.
Community Advocacy also operates three Community Food Cooperatives. These co-operatives, with over 1000 member families, enable residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods to leverage economic resources to increase nutritional security and to raise policy issues around food on a macro-level.
jerusalem [at] advocacy [dot] org [dot] il (Barbara Epstein)
Director, Community Advocacy (CA), Jerusalem, Beersheva and Lod, Israel
Born in New York City, Ms. Epstein obtained her M.S.W. at the Rutgers University School of Social Work and Social Welfare. Following a stint as a community organizer in New York City, Ms. Epstein immigrated to Israel. For over 30 years, she has taught community organization at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work at the Hebrew University, directed community work programs for the Reform Movement in Israel, as well as assisted neighborhood organizations in various parts of Jerusalem. Ms. Epstein is the founding national executive director of Community Advocacy, which has been advancing social change in Israel for more than 15 years.
