Founded in 1982, ELEM/Youth in Distress in Israel is the country’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to treating and transforming the lives of troubled and at-risk youth.
The 12,500 young people we serve annually face-to-face and online deal with tremendous challenges, such as domestic violence, substance abuse, neglect, bullying, homelessness and prostitution.

ELEM works with secular and religious Jews; Christian and Muslim Arabs, including Bedouins; immigrants, including those from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia; and the LGBT community, most of whom live on the streets and will not seek help from traditional social service groups. ELEM’s hundreds of professionals and thousands of volunteers don’t wait for referrals to treat these youth but seek them out on their turf — on the streets, in schools, on the Internet and at bars and nightclubs.