What does the agreement between Israel and Lebanon mean for Israel’s youth, and how can we help? That’s the first question that comes to mind for us at ELEM.
The agreement between Israel and Lebanon is a welcome relief, but the fragile ceasefire leaves a long way to go before Israel’s youth once again feel safe at home.
In cities like Kiryat Shmona, from which ELEM programs were displaced alongside its youth, the damage of a year’s worth of rockets is substantial. Homes are uninhabitable, infrastructure has been abandoned, school buildings have become infested with pests, and families have nowhere to return. In cities like Tiberias, which hosted thousands of displaced families, social services were stretched to the brim, as they operated under rocketfire and struggled to absorb new communities.
While ELEM has been tirelessly supporting displaced youth and youth living under the threat of rocket fire, schools, social support services, and municipal programs in Israel’s northern region have been significantly disrupted or completely suspended. It will take months to ensure cities in Israel’s north can meet the needs of returning youth.
A year of displacement, fears, exposure to dangerous situations outside of the home, and the destabilization of family units have adversely affected youth, with ramifications that will be felt for a long time. ELEM is committed to supporting youth every step of the way, and our healing work is just beginning.
We must intervene now to prevent these experiences from turning into PTSD. ELEM will remain with youth where they are: we will continue to operate Breathing Spaces in Tiberias until every teen is home, and we will continue with plans to renovate HaLev (The Heart) Haifa with a bomb shelter.
ELEM currently operates 17 programs spread over the north, including three trauma initiatives, and will be slowly returning to cities like Kiryat Shmona along with the youth. ELEM’s agility allows us to provide adaptive services when we’re sought out, like in Majdal Shams after the attack that killed twelve Druze children, and move quickly to meet a changing landscape, like with Breathing Spaces and in-school support centers (Shluk) at new schools for displaced youth.
Municipalities in repopulated cities will turn to ELEM to implement new in-school support centers (Shluks), add after-school drop-in centers (Hafuch), and expand our digital programs to help reintegrate youth into their communities. We anticipate that Druze communities, Arab communities, and Haredi communities will continue to reach out to us to assist in providing specialized trauma care over the coming months.
This is a challenging time of transition, and there is a gruelling journey ahead for these youth as they begin to return to normalcy. ELEM will be there with them every step of the way, lightening the load and ensuring they have the tools to heal, grow, and thrive once again.
