The need: professional, dedicated therapists for extended treatment
1. Stage One – Activity in Response to Needs at Evacuation Centers in Eilat and the Dead Sea
The response: guaranteeing treatment continuity through designated therapists In order to support a continuous treatment process (at least six months) through the municipal resilience center, we helped increase the number of therapists and developed a supportive framework including suitable hourly compensation, professional supervision hours, travel costs to Eilat and the Dead Sea, as well as arranging accommodations where needed. 4 In addition to the above, therapists made a commitment to treatment continuity for children and youth, and there was uninterrupted support for expanding infrastructure – therapists, rooms, operations – for an ever-growing scope of patients. Throughout the entire Stage One period, there was ongoing cooperation with the directors of the Sderot and Eshkol Regional Council resilience centers in Eilat and the Dead Sea, for the purpose of data-based needs identification and joint formulation of tailored responses.
The need: suitable gathering and meeting places
The response: establishing resilience complexes A physical infrastructure of two resilience complexes was established in the evacuation centers in Eilat and the Dead Sea area, for children and youth from Sderot and the Eshkol Regional Council. The complexes (“Eilat Shachar Center” and “Dead Sea Shachar Center”) were designed to provide an infrastructure for emotional therapy and educational services for a total of approximately 5,400 children and youth aged 6 to 18. 3
The need: suitable space for emotional therapy
The response: establishing accessible infrastructure for emotional therapy We established 22 tents at the Eilat complex and 18 tents at the Dead Sea complex for one-on-one, group, and family therapy as well as parent training. The complexes were active continuously from Sunday through Friday throughout daytime and evening hours. The emotional therapy domain was managed by the municipal resilience centers’ teams, who also held professional responsibility for this field. Later on, they will continue to manage these activities in the medium and long terms and upon the return to permanent homes. Until the complexes were established, therapy was administered in hotel lobbies, on lawns, in hotel auditoriums, and more. The absence of privacy, comfortable conditions, and quiet made it difficult to generate a safe space for treatment and to build a stable interpersonal connection between therapist and patient.
The Dead Sea
Eilat
4 It should be noted that our commitment was met and a designated budget within the Operation was allocated to this supportive framework. Eventually, therapists received payment from the Ministry of Health, according to a model similar to the one we recommended to the local authorities.
3 Maximum capacity for group activity in Eilat was 1,000 children per day, and at the Dead Sea – 800 children per day.
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