For more than two years, children living on Israel’s northern border had to grow up in an environment of ongoing insecurity and disruption. Many were evacuated from their homes, faced prolonged instability at school, and ongoing emotional stress which affects their sense of safety and belonging.
The future of Israel’s north depends on whether its children are given the necessary tools to recover, adapt, and thrive. Without such targeted support, the longer-term emotional and educational consequences could end up shaping an entire generation. Therefore, we are offering direct service programs combined with ongoing efforts to advance systemic, longer-term solutions.
Yeladenu is establishing, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, 40 Resilience Centers at elementary schools across Northern Israel. These dedicated Resilience Centers will provide children with tools to process their emotions, build coping mechanisms, and regain their personal feeling of stability during the school day.
Parents are a child’s primary source of security. With that in mind, we are opening regional parenting centers across northern Israel, in partnership with local municipalities and the Ministry of Education. Our Parenting Centers will offer professional guidance, resilience workshops, support groups, and counseling to help parents support their children facing prolonged stress as an effect of the war.
We take teens age 15–18 on three-day therapeutic retreats in nature designed specifically to help them take a break from ongoing stress and rediscover their internal strength. Through guided dialogue and structured group activities, teens develop resilience, restore confidence, and strengthen peer connections.
In partnership with the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), we are developing a nationwide index framework to measure resilience and mental wellness, to allow for informed policy making decisions and long-term planning.
