From the Project Makom Website
Welcome to Project Makom, an initiative to help former and questioning Charedi Jews find their place in Orthodox Judaism.
While we believe that there are numerous valid paths within Orthodox Judaism, not all observant Jews are born into a community which fits them. There are many Modern Orthodox Jews who choose to move to the right, but many Charedi Jews who want to transition to a more Centrist or Modern Orthodox community face hurdles that prevent them from doing so (whether cultural, educational, or simply feeling unwelcomed). Some of these people end up leaving religious life altogether.
Makom will offer one on one mentoring so that participants can meet a new friend in a community to which they previously had no access; classes to discuss questions and variances in Jewish hashkafa and law; meetings to share experiences; mediation between families and individuals; tutoring services; Shabbatonim with discussion groups and classes, and more.
History of Project Makom
Allison asked the readers of Jew in the City to let us know if they were willing to help solve this need. In only a few days, well over a hundred people from all over the world reached out to us, offering to invite people in this situation for Shabbos, help them get their kids into schools, and welcome them into their communities.
We found our co-directors, Mindy Schaper (Director of Programming) and Gavriella Lerner (Director of Education) and began gathering a database of the mentors who had offered their help. Soon afterwards, we had our first event, a shabbaton in Airmont, NY, which was a big success and laid the groundwork for more events.