Thousands of children and youth in Israel live with psychiatric conditions and mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and others. Without sufficient state rehabilitation services or a proper therapeutic response within the community, these young people are forced to choose between a psychiatric ward and staying at home without appropriate care, both potentially dangerous options.
In light of this situation, Menifa has taken on the challenge of establishing a package of services for young people facing such mental-health challenges with no true recourse. The program accords with Menifa’s therapeutic model of addressing the needs of youth in crisis situations within their own community environments. In this framework, youth who are struggling with diverse psychological challenges benefit from a secure, supportive context, a personalized program of study, private therapeutic care, and deliberate empowerment. The Cherna Center in Jerusalem is an exemplary Menifa program in this domain.
The Cherna Center is an educational-therapeutic-rehabilitative daytime center which was founded in 2012 by Menifa in partnership with the Ministries of Social Affairs, Education, and Health. The Cherna Center is designated for young women between the ages of thirteen and twenty one who have experienced trauma or crisis and who are struggling to integrate in other settings.
Objectives:
- Rehabilitation and healing—a return to normative functioning in the community
- Bridging between the youth and the community post-hospitalization
- Educational advancement, including for the goal of high school graduation
- Preparation for life and occupational opportunities
- Family strengthening and support
- Precise and cost-saving services (Hospitalization costs approximately 30,000 NIS per month, while rehabilitation within the community costs only 5,500 NIS per month.)
- Prevention of psychoses and neuroses
- Avoidance of a need for repeat or continued hospitalization
Description of the program:
- The program is active during the daytime.
- The program provides educational and emotional support to young women between the ages of 13 and 21.
- Each participant has a personalized program designed for her, made up of an educational component and a therapeutic component. Additionally, as part of the holistic approach, the staff of the center also provides support and guidance to each participant’s family.
- The center accommodates fifteen young women as an intensive program, and an additional five receiving less intensive support.
Partners:
- The National Program for At-Risk Children and Youth
- Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health
- Menifa
- WIZO
- Binyamin Region Council
