Saving the Lives of Teens in Distress
Avia was hospitalized at age 14 with complex mental health problems including suicide ideation and anorexia, the doctors spent five months stabilizing her, but then she was discharged. She was not ready to return to school, where she had faced bullying and abuse, and her parents were desperate for an alternative framework that would keep her safe.
Fortunately, they heard about Menifa’s rehabilitation day care center in Jerusalem, Mercaz Cherna. There she met girls who were recovering from similar problems, which gave her hope. She learned to play the piano and the ukelele, enjoyed art, ceramics and singing, and rediscovered her self-confidence. After eight years of school teachers treating her as if she was stupid, she now studied with teachers who believed in her and took the time to answer all her questions
“The hospital kept our daughter alive, but Mercaz Cherna saved her life!”
For two years, Mercaz Cherna was a safe haven for Avia, where she learned to become a person who could interact socially without fear, and develop confidence in her own abilities. She benefited from the therapy that she received, and her parents were also supported by Cherna’s professional team, who probably saved their marriage from being torn apart by the stress of coping with a suicidal teenager.
Avia graduated from Mercaz Cherna with a full matriculation certificate (Bagrut) and a 95% GPA! She also had the confidence to advocate for herself and talk her way into volunteering with Magen David Adom and doing her National Service in the office of the Chief of Police! Now, at age 22, she runs her own nail art business and teaches other people how to do the same. Avia and her parents are eternally grateful to Mercaz Cherna for rescuing them from the nightmare experience of having a child imprisoned in a mental hospital, and coaching Avia back to full functioning.
Avia is just one of hundreds of young women who have been rehabilitated at Mercaz Cherna, who are now living in their community in normative relationships, with academic degrees, professions and families.
Dr. Yoav Cohen is a senior psychiatrist at Jerusalem’s Eitanim Hospital, where many teens with mental health problems are hospitalized. There is a huge pressure to stabilize and discharge patients quickly, to make space for other desperate cases of young people in danger. Dr. Cohen says: “We need more successful facilities like Mercaz Cherna to meet the demand for second-stage solutions when our patients are ready to be discharged.
“It is very important that they can live at home and build supportive relationships with friends and family, but they also need intensive support and therapy to help them catch up with their peers and rebuild their lives. Cherna is the only center in Israel that offers long-term rehabilitation for young people, and it is hugely oversubscribed. We clearly need more centers like this in Israel!”
A Unique Approach to Rehabilitation
Mercaz Cherna is registered with the Ministry of Education as a special school, although it also functions as a mental health facility in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Welfare. Menifa CEO and founder of the facility Etia Dan laments the severe lack of mental health facilities for youth in Israel.
She says: “The current war has impacted many young people very badly, and thousands are suffering from PTSD and other serious mental health problems. Israel’s hospitals are struggling to cope and discharging patients who are not ready to return home. It is crucial to provide an effective next-step solution to help rehabilitate young people in a safe and supportive environment, with therapy and sympathetic teaching.
“Established in 2012, Mercaz Cherna is proof of this concept – it has saved hundreds of young women. We urgently need to build 10 more rehabilitation day centers like this across Israel for young people like Avia. We’re talking about saving young lives and getting entire families back on track.”
