Moishe House and Footsteps have partnered to launch the first Moishe House for young Jews who left ultra-Orthodoxy and are looking to build community and reimagine their Jewish identity on their own terms.

The new Moishe House in Crown Heights opened last week and is home to four dynamic residents all of whom are Footsteps members seeking to connect to Jewish community outside the confines of ultra-Orthodox Judaism. The four will develop and provide a range of programs for formerly ultra-Orthodox Jews as well as the wider Brooklyn Jewish community.

Footsteps is an organization dedicated to supporting individuals from ultra-Orthodox Jewish backgrounds in their quest to lead self-determined lives, including by exploring identity and building community, while Moishe House is committed to supporting young adults engaging in pluralistic Jewish community building.

“For a while, our members – the majority of whom come from Brooklyn – have been asking us for a space where they can connect informally with others who get where they are coming from. Through this partnership with Moishe House, people who have left ultra-Orthodox backgrounds can be leaders in building an incredible peer community with others like them and those from different Jewish backgrounds as well,” said Lani Santo, executive director of Footsteps.