Even during Operation "Roaring Lion", we continue working to ensure the continuity of our services and support for the tens of thousands of people across the country who rely on us.
The reality in Israel has once again become complex and deeply unsettling for many. As the nation’s leading organization advancing mental health and wellbeing, we are experienced in pivoting immediately to emergency response. We are working to maintain uninterrupted prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation servicess, while strengthening the safety and resilience of thousands of our service recipients, their families, our staff and volunteers. Our extensive experience in trauma-informed care enables us to act quickly, with adaptively, and with compassion, continuing to serve as a professional anchor during this period.
We are seeing a marked increase in requests for support and a growing demand for mental health services. Our teams are working intensively to provide consistent, professional care – often while navigating heavy workloads, fatigue, and the personal challenges posed by the current situation.
At the same time, we are operating on two parallel tracks: maintaining our ongoing programs and services without interruption, while simultaneously developing and expanding professional responses tailored to both urgent and long-term needs.
Even in hard-hit areas, we remain on the ground alongside the community. In Beit Shemesh and Nahariya, for example, after a direct strike impacted the city and our local branch, our teams mobilized immediately to assist residents and service recipients whose homes were damaged, providing emotional support and initial guidance.
We wanted to share a brief glimpse into our work during this time:
Maintaining Continuity Care
Recognizing that mental health needs intensify during times of crisis, we have ensured that many of our services remain fully operational.
Since the launch of the operation, our 24/7 residential frameworks have continued operating without interruption – including hostels, supported communities, balancing houses, and emergency shelters. These provide ongoing care and support for hundreds of service recipients who rely on these stable frameworks, especially during emergencies. We also continue to accept new service recipients to ensure no one is left without support during this complex time.
Simultaneously, teams across the organization are supporting service recipients remotely through phone and digital communication, providing uninterrupted individualized guidance.
We also immediately activated “Be’shutaf Online,” our virtual social center, offering activities and group discussion spaces that enable hundreds of service recipients to stay socially connected and alleviate feelings of loneliness and anxiety.
We are gradually reopening frameworks in accordance with Home Front Command guidelines, adapting to the evolving situation while ensuring the safety of both service recipients and staff.
At our employment centers, teams are working diligently to ensure that the thousands of products created by service recipients are delivered on time to the many private and business customers who placed orders ahead of Passover.
Supporting Families
To support family members and equip them with the tools they need to care for their loved ones during this challenging time, we offer both individual and group meetings remotely. These sessions create a space to pause amid the complexity of the current reality, share personal experiences, and gain practical knowledge and coping strategies.
In addition, we provide online lectures tailored specifically for families, offering guidance and practical tools to help manage stress, anxiety, and uncertainty – while strengthening their ability to support their loved ones.
Supporting Youth and Young Adults
In recent years, youth and young adults have faced increasingly complex emotional challenges, alongside the natural developmental transitions of adolescence and early adulthood. We continue to support them nationwide through individual and group sessions, counseling, and professional guidance delivered through our headspace centers and online service, as well as through ongoing care for youth experiencing mental health crises at our Balancing House in Kfar Hassidim.
At the same time, we are expanding access to knowledge and coping tools for stress and uncertainty through our “Movers” youth ambassador team and our mental health professionals, who engage directly with young adults on social media in a tone and language that resonate with them.
Following the strike in the Be’er Sheva area, our local headspace team is working in partnership with the municipality, educational institutions, and community leaders to provide a range of targeted responses for youth. These include creative activity groups, virtual reality (VR) experiences, training for youth safety mentors to help identify signs of distress, and counseling sessions for both parents and youth. The team is also supporting youth displaced to hotels by creating safe spaces for gathering, activity, and dialogue.
In other cities, including Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Ashdod, and Netivot, our headspace teams continue to work alongside local authorities and community organizations to provide professional guidance, group activities, and open forums for conversation for youth and their families.
Amid this evolving reality, we are committed to maintaining continuous contact and support for youth and young adults, recognizing that, for many, a stable, attentive, and professional connection serves as a vital anchor during times of uncertainty.
Information Center – Support when it's most needed
In these times of uncertainty and growing demand for mental health support, our Information Center has become a key resource for thousands of people.
Our trained team provides information, guidance, and assistance regarding community-based mental health services, intervention, and rehabilitation options, and the realization of legal rights. For many who reach out to us, this is a significant first step toward receiving the appropriate professional support.
Information Center: *5873
Providing the Public with Knowledge and Resources
Alongside our professional services, we work to ensure that the general public has access to the knowledge and resources they need to cope with stress, anxiety, and uncertainty.
Our mental health professionals share expert content through media and social networks, offering practical guidance on psychological first aid, managing stress and anxiety, and strengthening personal and community resilience.
You are invited to follow and share this content on social media
Supporting Our Staff
Many of our staff members are also navigating a complex reality – some have been called to reserve duty, others have family members serving in the IDF, and some have been displaced from their homes.
To ensure they can continue delivering consistent, high-quality care, we provide them with a comprehensive support system that includes professional training, lectures, and emotional support. Strengthening our staff’s resilience is essential to sustaining the continuous, professional care on which so many rely.
At a time when the need for mental health services continues to grow, your partnership plays a vital role in enabling us to sustain and expand our responses.
We are grateful for your trust and ongoing support and invite you to continue being part of our effort to safeguard the mental wellbeing and resilience of Israeli society.