JDC Emergency and Support Programs in Southern Israel

JDC Emergency and Support Programs Interim Report

Submitted to the Jewish Federations of North America Southern Israel Crisis Fund August 2010

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc. 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017-4014 P.O. Box 3489, Jerusalem 91034, Israel Tel: (212) 687-6200 Fax: (212) 370-5467 Tel: (972) 2-655-7149 Fax: (972) 2-6557515 Email: [email protected]

esponding with swiftness and sensitivity, the Jewish Federations of North America's Israel Emergency Campaigns has consistently demonstrated its commitment to R sending critical aid to Israel's war-torn communities. During these times of crisis, JFNA has enabled volunteers and professionals to act quickly to assist local residents and support each other, playing an important role in relieving the fear and uncertainty of war and bringing communities closer together.

But emergencies also reveal hidden cracks. While the attacks on the northern border during the Second Lebanon War, and then the ongoing attacks on towns surrounding Gaza culminating in Operation Cast Lead in December of 2009, brought an influx of assistance from within the country and from without, the attacks also showed the extent to which community infrastructure was ill prepared. Volunteers were not effectively coordinated, school faculty were not well- versed in treating anxiety, and elderly and disabled stayed at home during attacks, shaking with fear and an acute sense of helplessness.

The Jewish Federations of North America support of JDC emergency and support programs has enabled JDC to step up to the challenge of fixing those cracks and ensuring that Israel's most vulnerable would be stronger in the future. And now that IEC II has culminated and as many of the programs supported by JFNA following Operation Cast Lead are coming to a close, JDC can proudly say that these communities are better equipped to handle emergencies in the event of a future crisis. Moreover, they are also more responsive to the ongoing needs of their most vulnerable residents – the elderly, disabled and children.

On behalf of the thousands of people reached by these programs, JDC thanks the Jewish Federations of North America for its generosity and commitment!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Assisting Elderly and Disabled People in Southern Israel Pages 2-8 120 Strong and the Even Stronger Initiative

2. Developing Resilient Municipalities Pages 9-10 Municipal Crisis Management

3. Healing Children's Trauma Pages 11-17 Havens of Calm and Hibbuki

1 I. Assisting Elderly and Disabled People in Southern Israel The Even Stronger Initiative

Following the success of the 120 Strong emergency program during Operation Cast Lead, in 2009 JDC began adapting 120 Strong to meet the daily and long-term critical needs of elderly and disabled residents of communities within missile range of Gaza. Thus was born the Even Stronger Initiative – a two-tiered program comprised of the Accessible Communities for the Disabled and the Community Caseworker Model.

A. Accessible Communities for the Disabled The Accessible Communities Program brings together and trains teams of activists, most of whom are disabled themselves, who lobby for accessible services and create new opportunities for disabled people. In the past year, JDC has successfully adapted the Accessible Communities program to meet the needs of five culturally, geographically and economically diverse communities in the southern conflict zone, which came under fire during Operation Cast Lead. The program is currently being implemented in Rahat, Kiryat Malachi1 and Yavne where special needs activist groups are being formed, and Sderot and Ashkelon where activist groups are being renewed and strengthened.

JDC is pleased to report that the program has so far succeeded in bringing together a cadre of 81 activists with disabilities who are receiving intensive training and guidance and who have already begun lobbying for change and developing new services for people with disabilities. Activist groups are organizing around issues such as: emergency preparedness; the lack of accessibility of municipal swimming pools and recreational facilities; the need for employment empowerment; designing a curriculum for children to raise awareness about Activists in Ashkelon organizing to improve issues of people with disabilities; and convening emergency preparedness for people with representatives of local organizations with the goal disabilities of pooling resources and improving existing services.

1 Kiryat Malachi was selected to participate in the Accessible Communities program when Netivot pulled out. Negotiations with the Community Center and the Department of Social services started in March and a program coordinator and activists are now being recruited.

2 Program Highlights to Date:  The group of activists in each community has succeeded in securing the active cooperation of municipal leadership, and has created strong partnerships with community organizations that work with people with disabilities. This ensures that the issues raised by the activist groups are placed on the agendas of the agencies with the power to make systematic, long-term change.

 A member of Rahat’s activist group was awarded the Ministry of Social Services and Social Affairs’ medal for volunteerism, bringing national attention to disabled needs in Rahat.

 As part of the program’s emphasis on empowering people with disabilities to meet their own needs, activist groups have begun organizing activities for people with disabilities, such as a Purim party in Sderot that was attended by 100 people and an employment empowerment course for disabled women.

 Local Community Centers have started holding special social, educational and cultural activities for people with disabilities, as well as integrating them into their mainstream programming, creating important social and cultural outlets as well as valuable opportunities for networking.

 A regional activist council has been established, fostering cooperation among disabled activists, organizations and government agencies involved in services for people with disabilities. This maximizes local resources, raises awareness among the broader community to the needs of people with disabilities, and provides new activists with support and mentoring from more veteran activists.

Number of Active Volunteers in Each Accessible Community Location Number of Active Volunteers Yavne 7 Rahat 21 Sderot 23 Ashkelon 30 Kiryat Malachi Recruitment in process

3 Empowerment in Sderot: Dalia’s Story Dalia is a new immigrant single mother from Sderot with physical disabilities that have prevented her from securing and maintaining stable employment. While much of her day-to-day life is a struggle, she was determined to contribute to the community and provide a positive role model for her eight-year-old daughter. Dalia originally learned about the Accessible Communities program through her involvement with Sderot's Volunteer House - funded through JDC's Emergency Management Consulting program. Dalia was excited by the opportunity to take her community involvement to the next level: from volunteer to activist and organizer.

Recognizing that employment is a key issue for many disabled people, as her first undertaking Dalia organized a personal and employment empowerment course for 12 women with disabilities. As an outgrowth of this course, she and three group participants took the initiative to organize an emergency preparedness training for people with disabilities in Sderot. The training will provide participants with the skills and direction to impact the emergency preparedness procedures of disabled people in Sderot.

Dalia’s involvement with the Accessible Communities program has empowered her on a personal level and given her an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the lives of individual people with disabilities as well as to the community as a whole.

4 B. The Community Caseworker Model JDC’s model for Community Caseworkers, based on the successful 120 Strong wartime model2, deploys Community Caseworkers to identify and assist elderly and disabled residents of the southern conflict zone in peacetime as well as in times of emergency. Through home visits and phone outreach, case managers learn about the most basic and critical needs of vulnerable elderly and disabled and, working with local partners, ensure that these needs are met on an ongoing basis as well as during emergencies. The Caseworker performs client outreach, referrals and direct provision of services, as well as recruits and trains volunteers and organizes community resources for the benefit of elderly and disabled residents.

Successful Simulation of Community Caseworker Model The soundness of the Community Caseworker Model in times of emergency was recently tested in the May national emergency drill. During the drill, JDC successfully simulated the Community Caseworkers Model in dozens of communities throughout Israel. As a result, JDC was invited by the Ministry of Social Services to implement the Model and deploy Community Caseworkers in dozens of communities within the first 24 hours of the next security crisis. JDC simulated wide-scale replication of the Community Caseworker model during a national emergency drill in May.

New Strategic Partnership JDC originally planned to pilot the Community Caseworker peacetime model alone, but was then presented with an opportunity to launch the program in partnership with the Ministries of Health as well as the Social Affairs and Social Services Ministry. Confident that this partnership would greatly increase the program’s short- and long-term impact, JDC went ahead with the partnership. It meant, however, that a delay was caused in the program's implementation since in order to finalize the partnership agreement, the Ministries required an exhaustive review of the 120 Strong program3. This review took a full year and was completed only in the last few months. Having now signed the partnership agreement, JDC is beginning to implement the Community Caseworker model, with the pilot now expected to end in March 2012.

2 120 Strong operated during Operation Cast Lead and involved Community Caseworkers reaching out to and assisting 14,448 needy elderly and disabled residents in their homes during the war. 3 The wartime pilot program, mentioned above, on which the Community Caseworker Model is based.

JDC is confident that collaboration with the government will greatly increase the program’s short- and long-term impact. On the long-term, it is JDC’s expectation that once the Community Caseworker model has demonstrated its substantial value in times of calm as well as times of conflict, the Government will consider expanding it to other locations. On the short-term basis, the partnership between the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs and Social Services will facilitate more integrated work, greater impact on the amount and level of services provided, and will also benefit individuals with psychological disabilities.

Incorporating the Lessons of 120 Strong Initial findings from the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute’s evaluation of 120 Strong4 – the wartime pilot program on which the Community Caseworker Model is based - demonstrated that the program provided a critically important response to elderly and disabled residents during the war and strongly recommended that it be adapted for implementation in periods of calm. The evaluation noted the contribution of the Caseworkers in mediating between clients and service providers, especially in identifying and explaining clients’ needs to social service agencies. Furthermore, the Caseworkers’ interventions raised issues that need to be addressed following the war, especially gaps in current service provision.

The evaluation found that, in spite of the considerable challenges of launching a new program during a war, the program was well organized and staff were knowledgeable and provided a high level of service, meeting both emotional as well as practical needs of isolated people.

Program Implementation In each location - Netivot, Be'er Sheva and Sha'ar Hanegev - the Community Caseworker model will be operated by the local Association for the Elderly. Community Caseworkers are currently being recruited and some have begun partaking in the training program developed by JDC. Involved in the training program are also representatives of the Home-Front Command and community agencies dealing with elderly and disabled clients. The Community Caseworkers will be under the professional supervision of the Department of Social Services, which will also provide logistical support and lists of potential clients during the course of this 18-month pilot program.

4 Upon final publication of the English version, JDC will send the evaluation to JFNA.

6 Recruiting Community Caseworkers The local Associations for the Elderly, the operating agency, was responsible for recruiting Community Caseworkers to fill six full-time positions5. In keeping with local needs and available candidates, the positions have been divided among more than one staff member. For example, in order to meet the needs of the Sha’ar HaNegev regional council, which is comprised of numerous small agricultural communities, it was determined that the most effective approach was to recruit professionals who are already active in their communities to work as Community Caseworkers on a very part-time basis. To date, a total of 16 Caseworkers have been hired; there are nine in Sha’ar HaNegev, three in Netivot and four in Be'er Sheva. The Caseworkers reflect the diversity of the communities in which they will be working, and include men and women, young people and retired people, and new immigrants and veteran Israelis. They bring a variety of professional experience, and the group includes a nurse, a social worker, a teacher, and retired professionals from the Department of Social Services, the Public Housing Authority, and the IDF. Community Caseworkers at a recent training session Caseworker Training JDC has provided comprehensive training for the Community Caseworkers, consisting of three, day-long sessions which were held in July. The trainings were facilitated by JDC staff, representatives of the Homefront Command and community agencies dealing with elderly and disabled clients and covered the following topics:

 Orientation to the needs (especially emergency needs) and characteristics of elderly and disabled people, as well as an overview of services currently available to them.

 Recruiting, training and deploying volunteers in times of calm as well as times of emergency. Volunteers will receive ongoing training and will assist with gathering information as well as preparing to be deployed in the event of a crisis. JDC has already secured a commitment from the NGO “From Heart to Heart” to provide volunteers to assist in completing the initial intake forms.

 Effective communication: Overcoming obstacles to communication with elderly or disabled people, key phrases to use in introducing the Caseworker and the program to clients, effective information gathering, use of the intake forms.

5 A sixth community caseworker position was added in place of the program coordinator. General management and coordination of the program is carried out by JDC headquarters professionals.

7  Home visits and phone contact: Role playing exercises of home visits and phone interviews. Conveying necessary information to relevant service providing professionals.

 Emergency situations: How to cope and behave in times of emergency with an emphasis on building practical tools. Understanding the regulations of the Home Front Command, contact information of organizations that provide assistance.

8 II. Developing Resilient Municipalities Emergency Municipal Crisis Management in Ashkelon

Praise from the Homefront Command…

A year and a half after Operation Cast Lead emergency preparedness is still a high priority for municipal officials and residents of the Southern Conflict Zone. Emergency planning is under the purview of several important organizations, among them JDC-Israel, which is one of the leaders in the field…The contribution of JDC-Israel in the area of emergency preparedness is significant.

Lieutenant Colonel Ofer Shoshan Commander, Homefront Command Southern Region

Improved Local Access to Emergency Services in Ashkelon Support from JFNA has empowered the Ashkelon municipality to significantly improve access to the emergency and daily urgent needs of the city’s most vulnerable residents. As a first step in the emergency consulting process, JDC worked with municipal partners to divide the weakest parts of Ashkelon into districts, with a focus on more efficiently responding to the needs of low-income elderly and disabled people. As a result, most of the low-income municipal districts in Ashkelon have established district assistance centers that are staffed by community professionals, including social workers from the Department of Social Services. These centers, in addition to forming the basis of the city’s emergency infrastructure, are greatly expanding residents’ access to municipal services. The centers are overseen by community welfare coordinators, and each center has developed a service-delivery protocol.

Development of a Municipal Emergency Workplan JDC has provided intensive consulting, including meetings with 70 to 80 upper and middle municipal leaders, to help the municipality analyze its performance during Operation Cast Lead and use the lessons learned to determine next steps. This involved bringing together stakeholders from different fields in the municipality to facilitate dialogue and help them understand and incorporate the lessons from Operation Cast Lead, as well as determine how they wanted to expend their allotted emergency consulting time.

The municipality determined that their top priority was to write a new broad-based municipal plan for emergency situations, as the plan they had during Operation Cast Lead does not take into account the significant changes that have occurred since it was written. Thanks to JDC’s assistance, especially through YUVAL workshops, which are designed to increase municipal trauma-response capacity, the municipality has already identified a number of important issues that will need to be addressed in the municipal workplan, including:

 Recruiting and training volunteers to provide relief to municipal workers who otherwise would need to work around the clock

 Protecting the city’s physical and residential infrastructure and increasing accessibility to bomb shelters

 Supporting services for emergency personnel such as childcare or the provision of safe educational facilities during crises, as well as appointing “understudies” for employees who are unable to perform their duties as a result of panic

 Improving communication between key municipal departments, and between the municipality and national actors (IDF, Homefront Command, etc.) during emergencies

 Delivering emergency information to Ashkelon residents

The goal of the current process is to create a standardized operational model for periods of emergency that will include all of the local agencies that need to function during crisis situations. This process involves working closely with staff at all levels and with representatives of the Homefront Command, as well as helping municipal staff translate the emergency model into procedures that will be integrated into municipal emergency response systems. It further enables municipal leaders to reflect on what happened during the war and begin applying lessons to their work.

10 III. Healing Children's Trauma

A. Havens of Calm Havens of Calm creates a nurturing, safe space in schools for at-risk and traumatized children where they can work through difficult feelings with support and guidance. In a comfortable room equipped with therapeutic toys and games, children and their families benefit from a range of expressive and emotional therapies that teach relaxation techniques and build their resilience. Both a treatment and a diagnostic tool, Havens of Calm enables professionals to identify and treat children suffering from emotional distress or trauma. Thanks to JFNA, Havens of Calm has reached about 3,700 children and youth in 37 schools, providing intensive intervention that has helped them overcome trauma and gain invaluable coping skills.

Leveraging Support for Havens of Calm JDC has been negotiating with the Rashi Foundation and the Government of Israel to develop an enhanced version of the Havens of Calm program in Eshkol, Hof Ashkelon, Ashkelon, and Ashdod areas of the South. This agreement not only leverages JFNA's entire $860,135 investment to over $3 million, but also ensures that children receive constant emotional care as well as comprehensive support within school over the long term.

In order to secure the leveraged funds and achieve original goals in each of the seven Havens of Calm locations supported by JFNA (Eshkol, Hof Ashkelon, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Sha'ar HaNegev, Sedot Negev, and Sderot6), JDC, with JFNA's approval, has extended the program timeline to the end of the 2010 calendar year. Therefore, children and youth in Eshkol, Hof Ashkelon, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Sha'ar HaNegev, Sedot Negev, and Sderot will continue to benefit from the program in the fall of the next school year.

Adapting Wartime Model to Meet Ongoing Needs of Children At Risk in the South In spite of the last year-and-a-half of relative quiet since Operation Cast Lead, people of all ages continue to display classic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. This effect is most pronounced in children at risk, and the ongoing security threats have impacted both their ability to succeed in school as well as their teachers’ and parents’ capacity to provide them with the support they require. Building on the success of Havens of Calm in assisting children in emergency situations, JDC and its partners adapted the wartime model so that in

6 Due to delays caused by the process of signing the contract with the Rashi Foundation and the GOI, Havens of Calm in Hof Ashkelon and Eshkol will begin on September 1, 2010

11 addition to treating children suffering from PTSD it also meets the ongoing needs of at-risk children and youth, providing them with tools to cope with the daily challenges they face.

Therapy In specially equipped Havens rooms, children benefit from therapies including animal therapy, psychodrama, art therapy, sport therapy, music therapy, yoga and movement therapy, and therapeutic gardening. Most of the treatments are held for groups, although in some cases individual therapy is also offered. Participating schools have a Havens coordinator (a psychologist or social worker) who, together with the school counselor, is Therapeuticresponsible tools for counseling in action – astaff house and for parents and conducting family interventions where called for, as wellmouse as buila staffd by of children therapists.

The therapies provided by Havens of Calm has successfully taught participants to manage emotional stress and anxiety, and there have been marked improvements in their behavior, attitude toward school and overall sense of well-being. The importance of attending to these children’s emotional needs cannot be overstated; proper treatment now significantly reduces the likelihood that they will develop long-term psychological and social problems and bolsters their resiliency while living under constant threat of attack.

Empowering Parents to Help their Children Havens of Calm places strong emphasis on helping children through holistic intervention with their families. Some 500 parents have benefitted from ongoing individual counseling group parenting workshops. Through these interventions, parents were educated to recognize signs of elevated stress in their children - such as acting out, anger or fears - and were provided with the tools to help their children. The majority of these parents demonstrated reduced levels of anxiety and distress following therapeutic interventions and reported increased feelings of confidence as parents. This, in turn, has empowered them to fulfill one of their most important roles: providing their children with a sense of security.

Helping the Helpers – Teacher Training and Support Recognizing the significant role that teachers play in children’s lives, Havens of Calm provided about 400 teachers with intensive training and ongoing supervision. Through this

12 training they gained theoretical knowledge and practical classroom skills to help them effectively assist their most at-risk students, including identifying and responding to the needs of children suffering from PTSD. In addition, all of the teachers in participating schools benefited from at least three consultations throughout the year with a therapeutic professional to monitor the most at-risk children involved in the program.

This training and support increased the teachers’ capacity to advance the emotional wellbeing of their students, specifically to identify signs of stress and trauma; assist students suffering from post-traumatic symptoms; refer students for treatment within the community when longer-term therapy is

needed; and help parents more effectively Therapy group in Sderot reduce their children’s distress. This has resulted in a decrease in violence and behavioral problems, and an increase in the general feeling of well-being among all of the children in the schools.

A key to the program’s success is the free flow of information between teachers and therapists for the benefit of the children, meaning that each professional’s experience of the child informs the approach of the other professionals to assisting that child. Whenever possible parents are also integrated into this system, ensuring that insights gained through therapies are not just consigned to therapy but rather are incorporated into a dynamic program for assisting the child.

Helping Children and Families Health through Havens of Calm The Akeles Family The Alkeles, a large Ethiopian-Israeli family that struggles with economic distress, have two sons in the Meron school. As is often the case in Ethiopian families, Mr. Alkele is elderly and was almost entirely uninvolved in raising his children leaving his wife, who is much younger, to bear the full weight of raising their children. The family’s already difficult situation was exacerbated during Operation Cast Lead, when a missile fell next to their building. From then on their nine-year-old son, Ben, suffered from severe anxiety, even insisting on wearing shoes to bed in order to be prepared in the event that a siren rang. He was withdrawn, rarely talking to his friends or participating in lessons. In addition, their seven-year-old son, Shlomo, suffered from bouts of explosive anger and serious learning problems.

As the first step in treating the family, Lisa Kahana, the Havens of Calm psychologist, brought together all of the school and Havens of Calm staff involved with Ben and Shlomo to coordinate intervention strategies. Each family member received individual therapy and the whole family also met together with the therapist. Through these treatments, the Alkeles received new skills and learned to recognize and develop their existing strengths. As a result, Mr. Alkele has become more engaged in raising his children and Mrs. Alekele is happier and calmer. Ben’s anxiety has greatly subsided; he now stands up tall, takes part in school events, and enjoys playing with his friends. He was even able to remain calm during a recent emergency drill during which a siren was sounded.

Shlomo also demonstrated significant improvement both in his behavior and in his educational performance. He has learned to control his anger, which has enabled him to make friends. Most importantly, all of the family members report feeling more capable of coping with daily challenges that arise, having acquired skills that will follow them throughout their lives.

Pieces of a Puzzle: Healing in Sderot One of the primary survival strategies adopted by children in Sderot in response to the ongoing stress of life under fire is dissociation from their bodies, a common trauma survival mechanism. Therefore, in Sderot the Havens coordinator focuses on the critical work of rehabilitating the connection between children and their bodies, as illustrated in the following story of a group of 5th grade girls.

One meeting the Coordinator brought a kit of therapeutic objects and asked each girl to choose the object that seemed nicest to her. After several minutes of playing with the object, the Coordinator asked the girls to close their eyes and focus on what they were feeling in their bodies. Immediately several girls said that they could not feel their arms or legs and that they felt like they were not part of their bodies. The coordinator then led them through a visualization exercise beginning with focusing on the support they were receiving from the floor on which they were lying. She followed by asking the group to conjure up an image of pieces that fit together, and one of the girls suggested the image of a puzzle. I asked them to imagine the puzzle and then to observe what happens within their bodies. The girls lay quietly for a few minutes with their eyes closed, and then, one by one, opened their eyes, smiling, and said that they were now able to feel their whole bodies. One of the girls said that she had imagined a puzzle in the form of a person’s body and that she reassembled the puzzle.

This is an extraordinary example of the resilience of these children, and the power they have to heal themselves if given the necessary resources.

14 B. Hibbuki Huggy Doll Hibbuki Huggy Doll helps children in Sderot, Eshkol, Hof Ashkelon, Sha'ar HaNegev, Sedot Negev, Ashdod, and Ashkelon overcome stress and trauma by empowering them with their own therapeutic responsibilities. Through Hibbuki, a puppy doll with velcro strips at the end of its long arms that hug the child, children have a constant companion who provides stability and security. By learning to take care of Hibbuki, children are able heal themselves of trauma and stress caused either by the ongoing security threats or from difficulties at home.

Thanks to JFNA's support, Hibbuki has hugged a total of 3,100 children in 125 kindergartens throughout the region since Operation Cast Lead, according to the following breakdown:

 1,000 children from 53 kindergartens in Sderot and smaller Gaza border communities  1,100 children in 42 kindergartens Ashkelon  1,000 children in 30 kindergartens in Ashdod  Intensive therapy to over 200 children in Ashdod, Ashkelon and the Gaza border region

Therapeutic Intervention An important function of Hibbuki is to help teachers identify children who are suffering from extreme stress and refer them to appropriate therapeutic intervention. Throughout the year 200 children in Ashdod, Ashkelon and the Gaza border region benefited from individual and group art therapy. As some of these children only began to show signs of severe emotional distress towards the end of the current school year and did not finish their full regimens by the time summer break began, JDC, with JFNA's approval, extended the therapy program until the end of 2010.

Hugging in Sderot Daniel, a four-yea- old from Sderot, is an only child from a troubled family. Following Operation Cast Lead, he suffered from insomnia and was often afraid to go outside. His parents’ failing marriage compounded his wartime trauma, and at home, he was exposed to their increasingly heated arguments, which sometimes culminated in violence and police intervention. Daniel became unsettled and confrontational in school, and was unable to focus and participate in group activities.

When his parents eventually divorced, they were assigned joint custody, which means that every day Daniel went home to a different home. His teachers reported that his behavior further deteriorated, that he was often confused - unable to engage in sustained activity from one day to the next. Understanding his need for additional support, his teacher gave him a Hibbuki Huggy doll and provided him with ongoing guidance about using the doll. His Hibbuki doll instantly became his constant companion, helping him overcome his insomnia

15 and creating stability where it had been lacking. As Daniel came to rely on his Hibbuki doll – playing with it, talking to it, and taking care of it - his mood and behavior improved, and it was clear to everyone involved that the constancy afforded by Hibbuki had helped him reestablish a sense of security and safety.

Training and Mentoring of Teachers and Counselors As part of JDC’s emphasis on capacity building, 150 Kindergarten teachers in Ashkelon and Ashdod received intensive training and ongoing supervision, gaining theoretical knowledge and practical tools to utilize Hibbuki in their classrooms. Training included a focus on engaging parents in the Hibbuki therapy, as well as encouraging children to engage in free play as a way of coping with stress. In addition, throughout the year, 22 Kindergarten teachers in Sderot received bi-monthly individual training from art therapists in how to use children's art to identify trauma cases. Furthermore, the training infrastructure developed with JFNA's support enabled JDC to leverage a private donation for a day-long training seminar for 50 kindergarten teachers in Kiryat Malachi .

In recognition of the importance of coordinated intervention, 76 early childhood counselors and psychologists who are responsible for counseling in kindergartens throughout the Gaza border region received individual mentoring and intensive training from a clinical psychologist throughout the year. Teachers, counselors and psychologists reported that the mentoring empowered them to effectively intervene in situations in which they felt unsure in the past. They said that they have learned invaluable methods for dealing with problematic behavior, as well as how maximize the therapeutic resources available in their schools and communities. Thanks to these trainings, participating schools have developed a high level of expertise in identifying and assisting children who are suffering from emotional distress or trauma.

Systematic Change In recognition of the program’s significant contributions, Hibbuki has been included in the menu of programs offered through the government of Israel’s National Project for At-Risk Children and Youth. In order to be included in this menu, Hibbuki had to pass all government criteria in record time. Numerous communities across the country have since opted to continue to implement the program with government funding. Therefore, in the case of a future emergency, Hibbuki program infrastructure will be ready to immediately care for trauma among Israel's children.

Children from the Gaza border region find healing and support with Hibbuki