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Mobilizing Daily Lifeline for People with Disabilities in the North
In regular times, JDC’s Accessible Communities bring local professionals and volunteers together to define and meet the local needs of disabled citizens. Over the past few weeks, as crisis hit the north of the country, the Accessible Community network has been transformed into a daily lifeline providing invaluable emergency assistance to disabled citizens caught in the conflict zone. Each community has been reinforced with the addition of a community 'father,' who provides critical help such as delivering food and medications and with daily tasks made more difficult by the situation. One phone call is enough to send the Accessible Community into action, as they mobilize physical and emotional support systems to help northern Israel's disabled residents. Here are a few of their stories: Arik, a physically disabled man, lives in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon. When the bombs started falling, he was given the chance to relocate but felt that the journey would be too hard on him, and decided to remain home instead. Scared that there would be no-one to help him through this crisis, Arik called the Accessible Community and requested that they send someone to be with him at night or find a family he could stay with during these difficult times. The Accessible Community was soon able to find volunteers to stay with Arik during the day. Before they leave at night, the volunteers help Arik walk to a nearby bomb shelter, where he now sleeps. Galit and Chaim, an elderly couple with developmental disabilities, were trapped in their apartment with no food and no one to help. When the local Accessible Community heard of their plight, they got in touch with a nearby community center, whose coordinator filled Galit and Chaim's refrigerator and spent hours talking to them and helping them cope in this difficult time. Yosef, a resident of Zichron Yaakov, is only mobile with the help of a wheelchair. Even so, it is difficult for Yosef to move about, and he has rarely left his apartment in the past month. Yosef's wife and children are also trapped in Zichron Yaakov, as they are unwilling to leave Yosef alone. Recently, the wife and children were put in contact with the Zichron Yaakov Community Center, which runs free activities each day until 4pm. They now attend the Center religiously, happy to have found something to relieve the tension that comes from spending days on end in a small apartment. Elaine, a single mother raising two mentally disabled daughters on her own, called the Accessible Community's hotline, explaining that the situation in the north was placing a heavy strain on both her and her daughters and requesting that the Accessible Community help her find a host family in Eilat. The Accessible Community quickly got in touch with the Eilat municipality and local community centers and a willing family was soon found. Elaine and her daughters are now living with the host family in Eilat, where her daughters participate in children's activities at a local community center. The Accessible Community recently received a call from Aaron, a father worried about his teenage son. Since the current conflict began, the son has been exhibiting severe behavioral problems, which have only grown worse as the crisis wears on. He recently began drinking and Aaron was desperate for help. The Accessible Community found the boy a spot at Yovalim, a program for children-at-risk in Kfar Saba which specializes in behavioral problems and crisis management. Dalia, an emotionally disturbed young woman with young children, is left home alone all day while her husband studies in yeshiva. It is very difficult for Dalia to care for her children, who are growing stir crazy from having to remain indoors all day. The situation only gets worse when the sirens ring and Dalia must take her children to the bomb shelter. The Accessible Community sent Dalia a volunteer to help her care for her children while her husband is studying. The volunteer keeps the children occupied throughout the day and has been invaluable in helping Dalia get to the bomb shelter in time when the sirens ring. A group of children from one of the northern border towns were being taken on a field trip to the center of Israel, giving them a respite from the constant rocket attacks bombarding their city. One of the children suffers from cerebral palsy and was unable to travel on his own. The Accessible Community's emergency coordinator arranged for a volunteer to travel with the child so that he, too, could enjoy the field trip. The Accessible Community received a phone call from Amnon, a disabled man who was due to appear in court the following Sunday. Amnon feared that due to the situation he would have no way of getting to there and was scared that he would be punished for skipping his court date. The Accessible Community referred Amnon to the public defender, who is dealing with the request and trying to reschedule the date. Yelena suffers from postpartum depression and has thus been unable to leave her town. She has not even been going to the bomb shelter when the sirens ring. Thanks to the Accessible Community, Yelena received emotional counseling over the phone and a social worker was recently sent to her house for follow-up treatment. August 2006 |
