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Your Life.
Your Journey.
Your Choice.

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Footsteps is the only organization in North America providing comprehensive services and programs to people who have chosen to leave their ultra-Orthodox communities and build self-determined lives. Based in New York with remote offerings nationally, Footsteps provides a range of services, including social and emotional support, educational and career guidance, workshops and social activities.

צו ליינען די אינפארמאציע אין אידיש דרוקט דא

Explore Your Options

The choice to leave is not an easy one. There are many ways to get involved at Footsteps.

Resources

Offerings for people at all stages of their transition out of the ultra-Orthodox community.

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Your Year-End Gift Empowers our Members.

WHAT WE OFFER

There’s no one way to be involved at Footsteps. People at Footsteps use our programming in different ways. Some people use financial resources such as educational scholarships and microgrants, while others join for social and cultural events. At Footsteps, each participant makes their own choices. 

What We Offer

PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES

Footsteps offers a wide range of staff- and peer-led programming to people at all stages of their transition away from the ultra-Orthodox community.

Learn more about our programs

Change the course of someone’s life through an educational scholarship. Support a parent through their custody battle. Build community for someone who feels isolated. Connect a member to career resources as they build a new future.

Support Our Work

Chloe’s Story

Thanks to Kathleen, a Footsteps volunteer who helped me with the college application process, the Footsteps Educational Scholarship that helped me pay for school and a computer, and the support I received from others just like me in the Footsteps Second Gen group, a group for children of members, I am achieving my dreams!

Bee’s Story

My first Connect Over Coffee, I was so nervous and I looked up to the person I was connected with and wished to be in their place. They were so confident in their identity and so comfortable with not being religious. A few Connect Over Coffees later, I became the Footsteps member that was able to guide younger, newer Footsteps members. It was a good feeling to see the growth.

Dina’s Story

There are so many ways Footsteps has supported me over the years. Sometimes I reflect and realize that a lot of who I am, where I am, and the future of my kids would not be possible without Footsteps at my side. Not only for leaving the community, but just for being a woman and an immigrant, I’m at a huge disadvantage especially in the Orthodox community. Footsteps has stepped up and stepped in during the toughest parts of my life.

Kai’s Story

After not receiving a secular education growing up, I graduated with a degree from an Ivy League University (Columbia) and that would not have been possible without Footsteps. Besides for the scholarship from Footsteps, volunteers tutored me and checked over my work, other volunteers eased my anxiety and imposter syndrome. I am so grateful and proud of my degree and I don't think it would have been possible without Footsteps.

Sam’s Story

The nice thing about Footsteps is that when you join, you don’t have to go through that awkward initial stage of getting to know people. Everyone shares a similar story and there’s an understanding of why you are here. No one goes to Footsteps because they want to be alone – you go to Footsteps because you want to meet other people who know what you’ve been through.

Sol’s Story

As time went on, and with the tremendous help of the Footsteps staff and volunteers who mentored and tutored me, I began to realize that perhaps I could achieve more. I realized that maybe, just maybe, I could actually do something big. I decided that I wanted to become a doctor. Meeting other people from the same background who had surmounted similar challenges gave me the courage to continue forward and to aim high. And I achieved something big! I am now a physician, and I’m training to become a surgeon. It is hard work, but incredibly gratifying.

Tyler’s Story

The Footsteps Student Cohort combines the experience of our student members with the resources and guidance that footsteps provides. As the Student Cohort Leader I had the privilege of helping students understand the resources that Footsteps has to offer, and to help Footsteps have a better understanding of what our student members need. I’m so thankful that Footsteps allowed me this opportunity to give back to my fellow formerly ultra-Orthodox college students!

Mike’s Story

When I left the community after spending 20 years in yeshivas, I had no idea how I would support myself and find a fulfilling career. Footsteps was there for me every step of the way, introducing me to colleges, helping me apply to and attend Brooklyn College, and providing me with the crucial financial support of the Footsteps Scholarship. Now I am in the Mental Health Counseling Masters program at Brooklyn College, studying to be a therapist.

Footsteps in the News

Education

Many Footsteppers find themselves unprepared for life in the modern world outside of yeshiva walls after receiving little access to a secular curriculum.
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Family Justice

Navigating the legal system while transitioning out of the ultra-Orthodox community can be overwhelming, as Footsteppers deal with issues of custody and divorce as they are reimagining their lives.
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The Experiences of Leaving

Footsteppers are shifting from a world where every element of life was predetermined for them to a new world full of uncertainty and bursting with possibility.
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Find more articles, videos, interviews, and blog posts about the Footsteps staff, members, and organization.

Read The News

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have questions, this is the place to look first. Check out what people ask us most often to find your answer.
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Getting To know us

Interested in learning more about Footsteppers and the worlds they come from? Check out our list of recommending reading and viewing here.

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Help us support individuals leading self-determined lives. There are many ways to connect to our work.
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