עברית
Jerusalem After-School Safe-Haven Stories
Orit, Jerusalem After-School Safe-Haven
My name is Orit. I am eleven and I go to school near the safe-haven. When I arrive from school, the staff at the safe-haven ask me if I want to eat, or to begin homework. When I finish these two things I have free-time. During free-time I can play with the counselors or with my friends or play on the sports-field. After free-time the activities start. During the activities we do all sorts of things. It's fun for me at the safe-haven because they give me the special attention that I need.
Hagit Yalinkin, Counselor at the Safe Haven
My name is Hagit, and I am a counselor at Orr Shalom's safe-haven. As part of my job I meet five times a week with 12 wonderful children who have behavioral problems. My role is to take care of the children during the time they're at the safe-haven. I focus on both their general needs and their personal welfare. Each one of the children is a different world, with different qualities and needs. Each child has his own strengths and weaknesses. I try to find the way to get to every child, and to help them with their personal development and advancement in different areas. The safe-haven constitutes a warm and supportive framework for these children, most of whom haven't been removed from their homes.
Orit is very clever, with charm and great potential. She is a nice child who is very loved by the other children and the staff. Her father died when she was small. She lives with her mother and sister, who each have different medical problems, which means that her situation at home isn't simple at all. The safe-haven is a framework that helps develop Orit's capabilities, skills, and helps with her difficulties. Orit needs a stable place with clear borders, which she receives at the safe-haven. We teach her social and behavioral skills and give her emotional support and learning. Of equal importance, we give her activities for her enjoyment and that widen her knowledge and personality.