*10/18 – We’re writing this with a very heavy heart. Yamin Beera, who volunteered with our Young Mothers at Risk program in the south, was confirmed murdered, alongside her family members, during the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri.
Yasmin has been mentoring N. for over a year. With Yasmin’s endless devotion and love they made major shifts in N.’s life.
Yasmin was beloved by all. May her memory be a blessing.

*10/17 – Since last Tuesday night, ELEM has been on the ground at Kibbutz Ma’aleh Hahamisha, currently housing 350 evacuated families, to provide emotional support and trauma therapy to teens and young adults.
This week, ELEM will be launching three more pop-up sites in Tiberias, Shfayim and Mishmar Ha’emek, to address the needs of teenage refugees. Every evening, dozens of teens come to the sites to share their experience and begin to process the trauma they endured during the brutal invasion of their homes.
–Two ELEM outreach vans were destroyed in the onslaught. We must replenish our van fleet, so we can also send more vans to towns with refugees. Please consider donating to our emergency campaign at this time.

–We’re hiring new staff to all of our 24/7 programs as so many staffers have been called to serve. We’re not receiving government support for this effort at this time.
*10/16 – The devastating news from our colleagues just keep on coming.
This morning, we’ve learned that Lior Hadad Attias was also murdered at the “Nova” music festival. Just like Yonatan Richter Z”L and Sigal Levy Z”L, she was there as part of our Good People program to assist distressed youth during the rave party.
Lior always spread light wherever she went, with a familiar smile and a big love for life.
May her memory be a blessing.

*10/15 – ELEM’s weekly summary – week 1 of Sword of Iron:
–As many programs remain shut down, we’ve launched group session for the youth on both Zoom and Instagram, during the regular operating hours of the programs.
-Our shelter for young women in Jerusalem will re-open tomorrow, following a fire a few months back. It’ll operate 24/7 from the get go, and we will need assistance with care packages the moment the center re-opens. Donations will assist with this greatly.
-Our staff members will receive training on bi-national work during emergencies, so they are best equipped to serve both our Jewish and Arab youth at this time.
-Many graduated of our programs get back in touch, as the anxiety levels at this time are off the charts. They struggle with isolation, as many leave alone, and ask to return to the programs, often even overnight, to not be alone.
-We’re putting together a plan to provide mental health assistant to staffers who need it, as we understand that every single one of us is experiencing this trauma.
-As hard as it is, we must also plan for the aftermath. It is extremely likely that many youth will still exhibit signs of PTSD following the war, especially our youth in the towns at the Gaza envelope. We need to develop ways to accommodate it. These youth went straight from dealing with the trauma of COVID to the trauma of war.
-It is safe to assume that the Israeli market will be unstable due to this war. Both on the philanthropic front and on the government front, we expect guaranteed funds to be postponed, or not arrive at all. We need your support in order to assist the youth now, and in the aftermath.
*10/14 – We’re devastated to report that Yonatan Richter, a volunteer with our Good People program, was confirmed dead. Yonatan was killed during the attack at the Nova music festival.
Our collogues in Israel describe him as a great person with a huge heart and incredible strength. He always had a smile, a hug, and love to offer to anyone who needed it. May his memory be a blessing.

*10/11 – Another volunteer, Yasmin Beera, who works with our Young Mothers At-Risk in the south is missing. Along with her family members. We pray for their safe return.
*10/11 – ELEM opened our first pop up sites in communities hosting evacuees from the south. We launched sites in Ma’aleh Hahmisha and Nir David.

*10/10 – We are heartbroken to share that an ELEM Outreach Van manager, Sigal Levy, has been murdered. The ELEM family, employees, volunteers and hundreds of youth, mourn the loss of this beautiful and kind soul who was extremely dedicated to our youth.
She was killed while volunteering in our Good People initiative. She gave up on her holiday time-off in order to provide emotional assistance and ensure partygoers at the rave are safe.
May her memory be a blessing.

*10/8 – Many teens and young adults have been evacuated from the south, some from their homes in infiltrated communities and some from the rave that
had attracted 4,000 young revelers. ELEM will put staff on the ground at the
evacuation sites for these people to provide emotional support and trauma
therapy to teens and young adults.
*10/8 – ELEM supports at-risk young mothers, including a hub in southern Israel. These already-impoverished mothers are essentially housebound with their very young children, some in unsafe domestic situations. ELEM is organizing both emergency food packages and basics like diapers, which will have to be delivered to their homes.
*10/8 – ELEM’s online chat services have seen incoming requests triple and quadruple, as teens from all over Israel suffer anxiety and depression under the current unimaginable stress. For teenagers in distress, their devices are their first port of call. ELEM is bolstering teams and expanding access to our chats and digital services to support them where they need us most.
*10/7 – Three ELEM volunteers are missing. They were sent to a rave party in the south, as part of our Good People program in which our vans attend parties to assist youth under the influence or in distress.
We now know 260 people have been killed in that party but have no additional information at this time.
*10/7 – all of our programs, with the exception of our 24/7 shelters and our digital programs (online) are temporarily closed.