Yossi, a charming and talented young man, started Bayit Cham’s supported employment program about 5 years ago.
He suffered from severe anxiety, low self-esteem and social phobia that made it difficult for him to be in the company of people. Due to his phobias, he began transitional employment at a wedding hall setting tables. His vocational coach met with him daily, encouraged and supported him, and strengthened his employment skills.
After a few months, the director of supported employment encouraged Yossi to move ahead to a position that better suited his advanced skills. Yossi, of course, was very anxious and resisted the idea. His vocational coach assured him that he would not be alone – she would help him with anything he needed. Yossi decided to trust her and moved on to work as a cashier. Another step along the road to recovery…
The coach kept her word and came to the store every single day. She talked to Yossi, supported him and gave him feedback on his successes. Yossi recounts how much her presence instilled in him confidence, how it helped him to talk about the difficulty and about his employer. Slowly he was able to calm down.
Yossi worked well and once again, after only a few months, he was offered a new opportunity. His employer had just opened a large, new branch in the city and asked Yossi to manage the store! This entailed arriving at 6.30 in the morning, opening the store, being in charge of the finances, suppliers, orders, goods, customers, etc. – all alone!!!
Can you guess how Yossi reacted ??
The biggest fear was being on his own… “And what if I don’t feel well??”
But his employer insisted that he was the man for the job and his coach provided support, encouragement and coping skills. In the end, he agreed! Now Yossi arrives at the branch every morning with the first bus, opens, organizes, manages and does unparalleled work for over 3 years?
Today his coach’s support is more sporadic but he continues to meet with her when needed to work out his difficulties. For example, with the outbreak of corona, anxieties resurfaced and increased significantly, so once again, the support was intense. His coach helped him normalize his fears and reduce anxiety; Yossi continued to function excellently just as he is capable of doing… but that’s not all!
As Yossi’s recovery process progressed, in the past year he began to talk about his desire to marry and start a family, something that had not occurred to him before because he was not emotionally ready for it. Our amazing coach directed him to the relevant resources, Yossi began dating for marriage and… got married 5 months ago! ? Of course, his coordinator also came to this very exciting wedding?
In a conversation with his coach prior to the wedding, Yossi suggested having the wedding on Zoom? (social phobia and all that…) but she reported that he bravely withstood the challenge throughout the entire affair with much emotion and heroism. It was an amazing event.
These days Yossi is learning to integrate marriage and work and has begun the process of getting a driver’s license, studiously preparing for his written exam. He continues to be in touch with his vocational coach for emotional support.
His coach sums up:
“With belief in another person’s capabilities, anyone can get to where they want to go! With the right guidance and support, it is definitely possible! In supporting clients, I really like to use a meaningful tool – ‘learning from success’.”
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