In the difficult days of this incomprehensible reality, the mental health issues affect all citizens simultaneously.
Whether suffering from anxiety, stress, uncertainty, or experiencing severe trauma, we are all in need of support.
The reality does not spare even those already dealing with mental health challenges and vulnerable populations in society;
in fact, they need more support than ever.
As an organization experienced in working with trauma, the current situation demands substantial organizational efforts and a swift, proactive response to address external needs across various areas where our expertise is essential.
Our initiatives include:
• Support and assistance lines for the general public
In response to the crisis, stress and anxiety, we established support lines:
1. For the general adult population
2. For youth and young adults
3. For the families of those coping with mental health issues
This support is provided by a professional team that offers tools to cope with stress situations and to prevent post-traumatic stress.
The line is active for 11 hours a day, providing assistance to thousands of people.
To achieve this, we have recruited a team for initial telephone response and a team for professional intervention.
• Adaptation of Services for Emergency
As soon as the war broke out, we trained our teams to provide the necessary support to our service users in accordance with the evolving situation and their personal needs.
Our primary responsibility is measured by the continuity of activities and the provision of psychological assistance,
serving as an anchor to strengthen the functioning abilities of those dealing with mental health challenges, both for themselves and their families.
• Lectures and resilience tools for the general public
We hold lectures for the general public, offering tools for identifying and coping with stress, crisis, and uncertainty,
as well as initial psychological assistance and anxiety reduction.
Additionally, we conduct customized lectures for organizations and companies, providing employees with tools to enhance their personal and organizational resilience.
• Intensive remote support for individuals with mental health challenges
In order to enable individuals to maintain social connections, interests, and reduce anxiety and loneliness in the current threatening situation which requires staying at home, we have established a virtual social center. This way, peer groups can meet to engage in various activities to cope with stress (NLP, yoga, etc.) and in content activities (lectures, games, etc.).
This ensures the continuity of the therapeutic process, enhancement of emotional resilience, and perseverance of the social skills of individuals dealing with mental health issues. The service is open to all mental health service users in the country.
• Support for the teams treating individuals with mental health challenges
Our association's employees also face anxiety.
Hundreds of them live in the southern region and are under continuous missile and other attacks, while they continue to provide the best service to others.
The employees are exposed to new professional challenges such as notifying service users of the death of their loved ones, accompanying them through grief processing and more.
For this purpose, we created a support program for them that includes an emotional helpline and specific trainings for these situations.
• Public explanation and tools for emotional support
In these complex days, many of us are experiencing anxiety and sadness, and we're seeking ways to alleviate our own concerns and those of our loved ones.
Especially for this purpose, we created a variety of content and explanatory videos guided by our professional therapists, experienced in working with trauma, offering practical tools for initial emotional support.
We've also created a unique video project for children and adolescents in collaboration with volunteers and youth influencers,
delivering exercises and activities specialized for their audience.
These videos are shared on Enosh's website, Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok channels, as well as on headspace's platfoms.
• Human Resources Preparation within the Association
Since the beginning of the Iron Swords War, the association's human resources team has invested significant efforts in mapping complex situations among its employees and communicating essential information through the organization's portal, in order to try to mitigate uncertainty and to inform the employees ongoing work structure.
• Technological Support System for the Support and Assistance Line
During the early days of the war, we quickly established a digital system to support the activities of Enosh's support and assistance lines.
Enosh's Information Systems team, along with the help of volunteers, implemented a smart cloud-based infrastructure integrated with complementary platforms, allowing therapists to receive inquiries from anywhere, intelligently route inquiries based on therapist availability, conduct chat conversations, and document them.
• Immediate emotional support for residents evacuated from the Gaza Envelope Area
In these days, Enosh and Milam teams in Eilat are working to provide immediate emotional support to residents and families from the Gaza envelope area who have been displaced from their homes and communities following the traumatic events and destruction, and who are dealing with the consequences of the disaster.
Additionally, Enosh teams continue to support family members of individuals dealing with psychological disabilities who receive services from the association in the south, according to a trauma-oriented approach.
Preparing for "the day after"
In addressing the national trauma, Enosh is offering innovative professional solutions to prevent deterioration and promote long-term resilience.
• Accompanying the education system in preparation for accepting students
Kindergarten and school children are at home in an unstructured environment, experiencing actual threats, anxiety, exposure to the difficult situation, dealing with loss and extreme circumstances.
To prepare the education system to return to normal activities, we are adapting our training to the education teams as well.
The training will teach beneficial practices in understanding the emotional distress of youth and provide tools for support by the formal and informal school staff to function as first responders, being the closest to the children for hours.
• The "Ma'atephet": a Municipal Framework Program for Youth Experiencing Mental Health Crisis and their Families
We are excited to announce the launch of an innovative program initiated jointly by Enosh and the National Insurance Institute's Fund for Children and Youth at Risk.
The program's goal is to establish a local system to provide guidance, assistance, support, and treatment for adolescents aged 12-18 in mental crisis and their families. The program will offer community-based support, taking into account the needs of adolescents and their families, engaging with the community, and collaborating with all aspects of the adolescent's life (school, social life, etc.).
The objective is to assist adolescents and their families, guiding them through the mental crisis, and connecting them with relevant community resources to achieve optimal functioning during the crisis.
• Establishment of a Unit to Provide Treatment for Adolescents and Youth Coping with Mental Crisis Due to Exposure to War and Terrorism
As part of our commitment to offer preventive and therapeutic services for adolescents and youth, we are gearing up to launch a therapeutic unit in partnership with the Chicago Federation and the National Insurance Institute Foundation.
The unit will provide guidance and treatment for youth and adolescents aged 10-25, dealing with the aftermath of exposure to war and terrorism, with a focus on trauma, loss, and grief.
Based in Ashdod, the specialized treatment team for this age group will deliver comprehensive support to prevent decline and facilitate long-term coping with the repercussions of trauma. Parental guidance will be an integral component of the unit.
We are grateful to all the partners involved in this important initiative.
• Balancing House – Accepting Soldiers and Offering Specialized Training in Trauma
In response to the current situation, our balancing house are now accepting soldiers affected by the ongoing conflict. In Enosh, these homes serve as a community-based mental healing alternative, offering a time-limited, intensive professional therapy framework for individuals dealing with acute mental crises. The treatment includes individual, group, and family sessions facilitated by a dedicated professional team who is available 24/7, providing immediate support.
We operate four balancing houses catering to: men, women, people who are coping with post-traumatic stress from security-related experiences and, most recently, a home specifically for adolescents. All treatment teams at the balancing houses have undergone training and guidance in addressing trauma-related issues within the context of the current security situation.
The absorption of soldiers into the program is in collaboration with the IDF’s Medical Corps.
How can you help?
Amid the ongoing situation, immediate needs are becoming clearer each day.
We maintain flexibility and adhere to a consolidated operational approach to address emergencies and uncertainties, both internally and externally.
We understand that our employees' added responsibilities and the recruitment of additional staff to meet these new needs will significantly increase the organization's costs. However, it's still challenging to estimate the exact amount needed and the duration of these requirements. Along with this, it is clear that the field of mental health will require a high level of effort for a while longer, even at the end of this intensive war time and as part of the new reality we are facing. It is already clear that life in Israel will never return to what it was.
Any donation will assist us in the current effort we are undertaking