עברית
Yaacov Ze'ev Graduates' Home Stories
Danny, Graduates' Home
I have been with Orr Shalom for a number of good years. Until a year and a half ago, I lived with a foster-family that treated me like their own son. Now I live in the Graduates' Home. In general, ever since I arrived at Orr Shalom I've received tools and methods to deal with different things that have happened in my life. For example, I was helped tremendously by the therapeutic care, which strengthened me and gave me the support that I needed to continue.
Today, I live in the Graduates' Home in Kiryat Ono. This is a home for people who have graduated out of the other Orr Shalom frameworks. At the home there are counselors and social workers to accompany us, the graduates, through our daily lives, giving us the tools required for an independent life. In addition, there is also assistance from volunteers.
At the Graduates' Home we pay a small rent, with no other costs. This helps us manage our finances more easily. The home is also located in a central area, which allows us to move more freely, whether it be to the army base, to work, or out on the town. Receiving this support really helps me. Today I am more secure, and I am making good progress.
Sheli Ben Eleazer, Social Worker at the Graduates' Home
Danny arrived at the Ya'akov Ze'ev Graduates' Home a year and a half ago, after he had been living with an Orr Shalom foster-family. He entered the home when he had finished basic training in the army. He is a quiet, introverted boy with many communication problems. Until arriving at the home, he didn't have many life-skills, including everything from daily, independent functioning to social skills.
Since his arrival in the home, Danny has gone through an impressive process of learning and growth. He is being helped by the staff, and he is becoming more stable. He has learnt to shop, to cook, to clean, to do laundry, to manage his finances, and he has also made friends with the other graduates in the home. Danny participates in the social activities of the home, and in the army, and he soon hopes to start learning to drive. At the same time, he works hard on his personal issues and how to cope with the complicated reality within which he needs to function independently. It makes me very happy to see Danny applying the skills which he gained at the Graduates' Home in order to build a future with his own strength, and without familial support.
*Names have been changed