Stern Center & Priscilla’s Room Dedication

A dedication of the Rabbi Jack Stern Center and of Priscilla’s Room was held on Monday, July 28 at 4:30 PM at Construct’s offices located at 41 Mahaiwe St. in Great Barrington, MA. The event was a celebration of Rabbi Stern’s rabbinical career, his passion for social justice, and his longtime commitment to the efforts of Construct to create affordable housing and stabilize homeless families and individuals.

Named to honor the commitment to education and literacy of Rabbi Stern’s wife Priscilla Rudin Stern, Priscilla’s Room is a light-filled space which will house a resource library and quiet reading nook for the men and women in transition, as well as providing a nurturing environment for them to gather for workshops ranging from Healthy Eating to Recovery and Relapse Support. In addition, the new wing will create a safe haven where residents will find a break from the battle, have the support to regroup, and be given the opportunity to discover their own self worth.

The Center will also host a series of Community Conversations open to the public on issues of social justice in the hopes of increasing awareness of social concerns in the southern Berkshire community and to recruit and support volunteers who want to work for change in the community, particularly around issues of poverty.

Cara Davis, Executive Director of Construct, adds, “This new addition of the Rabbi Jack Stern Center looks to use two very powerful tools for change: community and conversation, to forge a way forward as a community with our most vulnerable residents. It is an honor to do this work in his memory. It is our hope that this Center will become a hub of information, inspiration and….action! To talk is one thing. To make things happen, to effect change, is quite another.”