The program includes four outings – one during each season of the year. Through hikes and workshops, participants are exposed to the wondrous changes that occur in nature – the shedding of leaves in the autumn, the gushing waters of winter, the blossoming of flowers and plants every spring, and the nature that flourishes even in the heat of summer. Depending on the season of the year, participants have the opportunity to produce olive oil in LOTEM’s olive press, bake their own bread over an open fire, or make wine by treading on grapes in LOTEM’s accessible wine-press. Through active participation in both hikes and workshops, women and children are offered the opportunity to experience nature, while healing both their bodies and their souls.

Rachel Ziv, director of the Women’s Crisis Shelter in Haifa, wrote after the November outing, “I have no doubt that the women and children of our shelter gained much from their excursions with LOTEM, above and beyond what we originally thought they would gain. They gained mother-child quality time, familiarity and contact with nature – animal vegetable and mineral – the understanding that one may enjoy the world around them – trees, earth, water, air – which are free to all of us and that children love so much, and many positive experiences to refill their and their children’s drained batteries.”

On that last hike, one of the women closed her eyes, let the wind and the sun caress her face and said: “This is so good.” She kept that smile on her face the whole day, and took pictures of her children in every natural nook and cranny she could find, to save these moments of happiness for the rest of their lives.

An 11-year-old boy told me, every few minutes, “We should do this kind of stuff all the time!”, saying it from the bottom of his heart.

It is our belief that Mother Nature increases the quality of participants’ lives, providing mothers and children with the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company in the shelter that only nature can provide. Most of all, it helps mothers and children realize that the world around them, the source of fear and cynicism, can be a place of renewal, sustenance and trust.

How does one deal with experiences like this? While hearing people have access to more sources of information, the deaf person quoted above is relatively isolated. The more than 10,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Israel suffer daily, not from terrorist attacks, but from “crisis” situations of more mundane types – but nearly equal emotional impact. Unfortunately, their unique needs are rarely considered during times of crisis, emergencies, or terrorist attacks. They do not receive services equal to those received by the hearing population, and programs geared towards crisis intervention and trauma have not been accessible to them or created with them in mind.

Through use of trained deaf mentors fears that are unique to deaf people in crisis situations are uncovered. One benefit of this approach is the power of peer support when learning to cope with crisis situations. Identifying with others who have the same disability is a way to uncover other unique aspects of fear and trauma, aspects that are then incorporated into the program’s curriculum. This identification with others and understanding often leads to a feeling of relief and confidence in coping with these stressful situations.

Over 300 people a year, many of whom are new immigrants, take part in this program. Although the participants vary widely in their experiences and lives, they have a common denominator: their inability to hear and a desire to learn to cope with the realities of life in Israel. The workshops are devoted to teaching skills relevant to emergency situations such as war and terror attacks. Participants are guided through the process of dealing with fear, loss and anxiety during these difficult times.

Participants benefit from receiving practical solutions and courses of action for functioning during times of emergency, danger or fear. They feel more self-assured and less fearful, which improves their emotional state and overall well-being. They have an increased level of self-assurance and self-confidence in themselves as well and in their newfound ability to effectively and calmly handle emergency situations of all types, particularly coping with terror attacks as deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, and their aftermath.

This program, along with many others at the Institute, helps deaf people to navigate the complexities of life as a deaf or hard of hearing person in Israel.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Sderot’s Resilience Center made a major and significant contribution to the mental health of our city’s residents during Operation Cast Lead,” says Nitai Shreiber, Director of Gvanim Association in Sderot, Israel.

During the most recent of Israel’s military operations, Sderot’s residents were caught between the Hamas militants of the Gaza Strip and Israel’s response to many years of unprovoked missile attacks on Israel’s civilians. According to Dalia Yosef, Director of Sderot’s Resilience Center, Operation Cast Lead brought with it a horrific intensification of both rocket fire and uncontrolled trauma. The Resilience Center proved to be one of the strongest and most important services available to Sderot’s communities during the war; in less than three weeks, the Center’s Emergency Room treated about 300 emotionally injured residents who needed extreme, immediate help. Hundreds more signed up for ongoing individual or group therapy.

Trauma and anxiety are not new to Sderot. This city, and the communities near it, are located only a mile or less from the Gaza Strip and have been victims of unpredictable but continuous missile and mortar shell attacks for more than eight years. The region’s youngest children have known nothing but a life with daily missile attacks. During periods of intensification, schools are shut, businesses fail and even public gatherings are forbidden.

The Resilience Center was established in late 2007 as a tool to provide professional support, treatment for those in trauma (according to some studies, that includes 90% of Sderot’s population) and training for the professionals who support the region’s residents. “We include elements in all our programs to help residents cope with trauma and challenges,” notes Chen Abrahams, from Gvanim’s directorship, who lives in nearby Kfar Aza. “We also focus on building community resilience. These are such clear, ongoing needs.” Symptoms of trauma can range from insomnia and inability to concentrate, apathy and depression, violent outbursts, physical illness, bedwetting (at every age) and hair loss to the inability to plan for the future or function on a daily basis. The Resilience Center welcomes all and provides treatment without stigma.

In the first three months of 2009, almost 1,000 adults, youths and children received help in the form of individual or group therapy. People reach the Center by directly contacting it or by receiving a referral from social, educational or medical service providers. The number of those in need are likely to grow, Ms. Yosef explained, because many of Sderot’s families are afflicted with intense and deep-set anxieties and traumas as a result of the ongoing nature of the security crisis. Entire communities in Sderot have been swept up into feelings of hopelessness, infecting even the most resilient members of their community. The Resilience Center stands as a beacon of hope for community, family and individual rehabilitation.

The Center’s work is far from done, but it has clearly become a leader in providing mental health services for the emotionally injured.