This book focuses on the Hesed centers, a network of community multi-functional welfare service centers established in Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union subsequent to Perestroika and the socio-economic crisis that followed. The book is divided into four sections that outline and analyze the Hesed model. The book begins with an in-depth description of the Hesed centers, documenting and analyzing their background and development, and highlighting the theoretical model on which they were based.