This week an adoptive parents’ support group completed a series of sessions, co-facilitated by MSW Mali Gavra, Bayit Cham’s Lev LaMishpacha trauma specialist and social worker Yael Elbaz of Israel’s Child Services Unit. These two organizations collaborated on Lev LaMishpacha, a unique program that aims to provide psychotherapy to the adoption community in Israel: adoptive parents and their children, children and adults who were adopted, the biological family or any other significant relative.

The Iron Swords war created new traumas and triggered previous ones among many people, and also affected the adoption community. Bayit Cham’s program directors, in partnership with the Child Services Unit, established online parent groups to help them cope during this stressful time.

The sessions gave them the opportunity to observe and discuss specific symptoms that arise among adopted children including anxiety, concern for their biological family, insecurity (in the world), and more. They acquired tools for emotional regulation, handling various behaviors, and connecting to the strengths of the children and parents.

Another second group is about to complete their series of supportive sessions and a third group is slated to open soon. If you are part of the adoption community in Israel, you are welcome to contact us for information, to register for the group, or to receive therapy. The services are offered throughout Israel and are free of charge.

Write or call: Feigy.p@bch.org.il,  073-2800487

The employment situation in Israel’s economy is not easy for many of us due to the war. In times of crisis, workers with disabilities are often the first to be hard hit. That’s why our employment promoters/vocational coaches throughout Israel have been working extremely hard since October 7th to prevent this from happening.

They provide emotional support, strengthen skills, intensively scout for jobs and contact potential employers. They are leveraging the crisis as an opportunity for positive change❣️

Yesterday our rehab staff even participated in a dedicated training session on the topic, facilitated by Yuval Ashkenazi in order to maximize all available options and get an additional boost of reinforcement for their extensive work.

It was fruitful and effective!🙏

And a little spoiler for the end – towards the end of the year, despite Iron Swords, our vocational rehab staff managed to preserve an 85% (!) placement rate for our service recipients who found jobs in the mainstream workplace.👏

C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N-S‼️

It is impossible to truly be happy at this time, but we are happy for each person whom we helped to feel better. As it says, “He who saves one life – it is as if he saved an entire world”. Here is a sampling of what we accomplished this year and some interesting data…

New therapy programs have been opened:

✔️ Resilience and Trauma Unit – nationwide. 12 individual therapy sessions per person, a new branch in Ofakim, parental guidance, staff trauma training and more.

✔️ Lev LaMishpacha – expert care for those involved with adoption – on a national scale through Israel. Already 70 service recipients, 30 therapists, and nurses, and 2 parent groups.

✔️ I.S.T. (in Hebrew – T.M.R.) – Informed, Sensitive Treatment of sexual trauma – a training project for staff in the general health and mental health systems.  Over 50 training sessions have already been delivered by 15 expert therapists in the field. Collaborations have been established with all health funds, hospitals throughout Israel, rehabilitation basket units and more.

And updates about our veteran therapeutic programs:

✔️ At Dror mental health clinics, some 28,644 therapy sessions were provided, an increase of 7%.

✔️ In the Cheirut OCD clinic, Benafsheinu and Belibeinu treatment centers for victims of sexual trauma, and Navigate for first-time psychotic episodes – over 500 patients.

In the field of mental health vocational rehabilitation:

✔️ In Shacharit supported and transitional employment for rehabilitation basket beneficiaries – 710 service recipients, an increase of 10%. And within that, 85% job placement despite the Iron Swords war.

✔️ In T’chelet support center for families – 250 additional families joined this year, an increase of 65%.

✔️ In Shiluvim, Handyman, Ofek, Reishit, Hop(e)styling, and Hesegim, – dedicated employment training programs – over 150 service recipients.

In the field of vocational rehabilitation for people with various disabilities:

✔️ in Keshet supported employment for people with all disabilities – 220 service recipients, 80% job placement at mainstream employment.

✔️ In the Technological Center and the Anan project, vocational training centers and employment in a technological environment, and in Machar group employment – some 70 new service recipients.

✔️ Kashuvim guidance and support hotlines – thousands of calls per month. Since October 7, the number of callers has doubled.

✔️ Tze’adim life coaching center – 200 service recipients have made groundbreaking changes in their lives.

✔️ Zechut’cha – 400 clients received assistance handling the bureaucratic process, of which 70 were taken through from start to finish until they established eligibility for “rehabilitation basket” benefits.

And this is just a small sampling…

Many thanks to all our partners on the journey, Bayit Cham employees, volunteers and donors who make all this happen❤

We wish you all that 2024 will bring good news, optimism and hope.

Want more data and information? Ask to sign up for our newsletter and we will happily send it to you 😊

May 2024 be a better year 🤞

We are all hurting; we are all anxious.

Families fervently wish that the dreaded knock on the door will not be at their home; other families’ only wish is to receive a message that their loved ones are safe and are on their way back from horrific captivity; evacuee families’ dearest wish is to return home; other families are faced with zero income; families of the injured are praying for their loved ones’ complete recovery, and yet other families have received an unwanted new title – a Bereaved Family.

Almost each and every one of us belongs to one or more of these categories. And if not, then our pain for these families, our private pain, difficulties, pressure, anger, anxiety, has crept into all of us.

At the same time, the fact that you feel the fighting spirit on the war front and in the home front, all the help, volunteering and mutual support of our wonderful nation, strengthens us and offers hope.

Despite the painful news every day, each hour, we have to hold our heads high – we have no choice. This is the power that will promote healing – inner strength alongside action.

Each and every one of us should try to look inside and find our inner light, our personal ‘probiotic medicine’ to strengthen our soul. Because every individual is a small light, we are all a strong, steady light, and light always chases away the darkness.

Here is an exercise using the narrative approach that our director of supported employment in Israel’s Central and Lowland regions, Sara Kayla Meir, facilitated with her rehab staff recently (a huge thank you, Sara 🙏):

Take pen and paper, preferably also crayons, and draw a tree. On each element in the tree, write:

🌴 Roots – where did I come from, what are my origins, what is my story?

🌵 Earth – where I am today, what my life looks like?

🌳 Trunk – what are my abilities, talents, skills and strengths?

🌿 Branches – what are my dreams, ambitions, hopes?

🍃 Leaves – significant figures in my life (including those no longer with us).

🍏 Fruits – what gifts have I received in my life, spiritual or physical?

🦋 Birds and butterflies – what do I give back to the world, what light do I spread?

We promise you that you will come out strengthened, especially bearing in mind Rabbi Kook’s wonderful words that are more relevant now than ever:

“It is necessary for every person to know and understand that a candle burns within him and his own candle is not his friend’s candle, and there is no one who does not have a candle.

And it is necessary for every person to know and understand that he must labor and publicly reveal the light of his candle until it becomes a great torch and illuminates the entire world.”

“As I handed out a certificate to each participant, we felt as if we had climbed Mt. Everest.” 💪😍 So said Dana Gilad, director of the “Hop(e)styling” program❤️

Today was the program’s super-exciting graduation ceremony! Hop(e)styling graduates are women victims of sexual trauma who took a home styling and home design course taught by Ultima College’s top lecturers, affiliated with the Israel Building Center, along with Bayit Cham’s staff who provided individual and group support and taught learning and employment skills needed to successfully integrate into the world of work.

Despite the difficult circumstances in Israel, we managed to hold a festive graduation ceremony with almost full attendance of course participants, guests and well-wishers.

After everyone gathered and indulged in a delectable spread, there was a string of emotional thanks and warm wishes, a video presentation that described the process the women underwent, and the distribution of certificates from Ultima College, in collaboration with Bayit Cham, the Rehabilitation Basket Unit, and the National Insurance Institute.

Participants spoke from the heart about what the program meant for them. It was so moving to witness a group of women, a large part of whom had not left the four walls of their homes before attending the program, for whom going out to learn and receive a certificate was a dream come true… At least three participants said that they enrolled or plan on enrolling in advanced studies in the field of design.

We are proud and beyond of each and every one of our champion program participants who completed the course with perseverance, determination and great success. It was not a given; it required great stores of inner-strength!!

Thanks to all the Bayit Cham partners who made this happen – to Dana Gilad, the champion who directed the program with great sensitivity and professionalism, and to our dear volunteers who came from far and contributed their time and skills🙏

Especially in these difficult times, it is wonderful to hear good news about the victory of light over darkness, both on personal and national levels.

We wish you all continued, outstanding success in whatever you do ❤️🏆