Evacuated Israeli children, who are temporarily housed in a hotel, wonder when they will be able to go home.
Since October 2023, Israel’s evacuated communities from the north have been uprooted and plagued by a profound sense of loss and lack of clarity about the future. Within this stressful environment, family structure and parental authority are fractured and youth feel “stuck,” as they are detached from routine comforts and familiarity.
The Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County is helping them cope.
Through the work of one of our newest partner agencies – Community Stress Prevention Center (CSPC), or Mashabim – we are providing stress and crisis management and support to victims of psycho-trauma, due to terror and war. With you, we are addressing the mental health of traumatized Israeli children.
For more than 40 years, Mashabim has worked closely with Israel’s northern border communities, preparing them to respond quickly and expertly after October 7th. Among the tens of thousands of evacuees from Northern Israel are 350 residents from Moshav Ya’ara who went to Zichron Yaakov. On October 16, 2023, they packed their bags and fled their homes, under rocket attacks and fear of an escalating war. Single people, couples and families were displaced from their communities overnight. Most of the women with small children left home without their husbands, who remain in the north, protecting their homes and farms or serving in the IDF.
The evacuees were welcomed with open arms in Zichron Yaakov, the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s longtime Partnership2Gether sister community. The Elma Hotel was converted into an evacuation center, and Mashabim’s support was provided immediately. In a recent visit to Zichron Yaakov, Dana Vizner, Federation’s Chief Planning Officer, met with one of the evacuees, Meirav, and Mashabim staff at the Elma Hotel.
“Meirav shared that from day one, Mashabim’s Resilience Coordinator, Yarden, sat quietly in the lobby, listening carefully, absorbing what she heard and observed, and quickly became the advocate for everything the evacuees needed. She became the liaison to the hotel, community, support services, mental health treatments and much more. She became the eyes and ears of the evacuees. Meirav spoke with gratitude and appreciation for the critical role all of the Mashabim staff continue to provide for the evacuees,” Vizner said.
For evacuees and those who remain in the north, Mashabim continues to promote the physical and emotional wellbeing of youth and children from kindergarten through 18. Among the programs offered are expressive therapeutic methods, including an arts-based program, play- and creativity-based programs, puppet therapy, music programs and more. The therapies foster a sense of resilience, relieve stress, develop social skills, and strengthen feelings of significance, belonging, and hope.
From the moment they arrived in their temporary home, evacuees’ hearts and minds have continued to think about their return home. Or Avnat, Mashabim Clinical Resource Unit Therapist, stated that while Mashabim is caring for the immediate needs of the evacuees, they are thinking and planning how to best provide support to assist in the evacuees’ return home. Meirav shared that while she lived in a beautiful diverse Moshav with friendly neighbors, living in the Elma hotel she has learned what it means to truly be part of a community, there for each other, with a shared mission.
She hopes to bring that platform back to her Moshav.