WIZO Emotional Resilience Programmes
20 September 2024
WIZO caring for 15,000 babies and toddlers
25 September 2024
WIZO’s New Programme For Enhancing Vital Emotional Support
WIZO Secondary Vocational School, Beit Hakerem, Jerusalem
WIZO’s secondary vocational school in Jerusalem, with around 100 students, is the only vocational high school in Israel catering to youth with learning disabilities, many of whom have been unable to continue with mainstream education.
Upon graduation, the students have the practical skills and knowledge they need to gain employment as hairdressers, cooks or sound system technicians enabling them to become independent contributing citizens.
The impact of the Covid-19 era on students around the globe has been well documented. This is particularly the case at this school as a large number were already suffering from behavioural and mental health challenges. The current crisis in Israel since October 7th has further exacerbated the trauma. The school’s expertise in educating students with special needs has resulted in their receiving more and more complex academic cases including children who have been expelled from mainstream schools and post-hospitalised youth. Staff members find themselves confronting extreme social conflicts and emergency situations on a daily basis.
The school urgently needs to increase its professional emotional support to meet the needs of students and staff and to ensure that the students maximise their potential and graduate from the school with the necessary vocational skills to become happy, successful individuals.
The new programme includes:
- A part time social worker to support a growing population at risk of hospitalisation, suicide and violent tendencies.
- The Otzma (strength) Programme for teenage students. The school has taken on the responsibility of supporting post-hospitalised girls to ensure a gradual return to school life. This will include extensive therapeutic sessions to build confidence and facilitate a smooth reintegration into the school community.
- Workshops dealing with the impact of alcohol and drugs. This would include one to one support as necessary.
- Togetherness Programme for younger students exposed to potentially dangerous situations online and in real life, including dangerous sexual behaviour and substance abuse. This programme aims to foster a positive classroom climate and to reduce social anxiety and build resilience.
- A supervisor to implement the above programmes.
Your kind support will help care for student wellbeing and also provide vital assistance to the dedicated staff who navigate challenging situations daily.
