Graduations

The approach of summer vacation at Jerusalem Hills always stirs up mixed feelings.

At this point in the year, a number of students complete their stay at the Children’s Home and at the Kemper Group Home.

The Sahar group graduated from the Children’s Home after 4 years, 6 boys and 3 girls graduated from the Carmel, Arbel and Ella groups and 2 boys graduated from the Kemper Group Home. The graduation ceremonies are the high point of the long separation process that the children go through throughout the year with the direct staff. Among other things, this process helps the children deal with the concerns and anxieties that arise in anticipation of the graduation and preparing for the next stage in their lives. The graduation ceremonies were very moving and powerful. The graduates’ families as well as past and present staff attended the ceremonies. From the beautiful blessings by staff members and parent representatives, it was apparent that the graduates went through a significant process.

During Sahar’s graduation ceremony 2 graduates passed on the “school key” to the Ofer group. Now the Ofer group will be the Seniors of the Elementary Unit, entering their 4^th and final year. One of the most emotional parts of the ceremony was when one of the graduates sang the song "Mother’s Hero" by Moshe Peretz. The very popular Israeli song “A Tribe of Brothers and Sisters" got its own rendition in the Junior Units’ graduation when the choir took to the stage and sang while incorporating the sign language. The chorus words suddenly took on a different meaning as the children sang these words while standing on the stage in the Children’s Home: "This is my home, this is my heart".

Good luck to all the 26 graduates of the Jerusalem Hills for 2019.

Sahar’s Farewell Project

As part of the Sahar group's separation process, a committee consisting of children, accompanied by staff members, was formed, which was responsible for their farewell project. The committee chose to spruce up the metal trashcans that are placed around the Home by painting them in bright colors and cartoon images. All the kids who love to paint took part in the project, which turned trashcans into works of art for the groups staying in the Home. In addition, each child and staff member made a sign with their own name. All the signs were hung on the wooden house near the cottages.

An Art Exhibit in Neve Ilan

For over 60 years, the artist Jack Goodman has been sculpting amazing sculptures in various mediums. He also holds sculpting classes in his studio. In July, Jack held an exhibition of his sculptures as well as his students’ in the Neve Ilan clubroom. During the evening, he auctioned off his works. All proceeds from the entrance fee and the auction were donated to the Children's Home. This is the second time that Jack, a resident of Neve Ilan, has held a special evening where the proceeds have been donated to the Home. This beautiful act emphasizes the special bond the Children's Home has with the Neve Ilan residents. Many thanks to Jack for his kindness and generous donation, for initiating and organizing such a special evening and many thanks to all who came and supported the Children's Home.

A “Special Day” and a Special Connection

The special relationship with Neve Ilan residents is particularly evident in the "Special Day" project, where Neve Ilan residents buy a gift and bake a cake for each of the children in the Home on their "Special Day".

Uri, the staff coordinator of the Sahar group, has been celebrating the "Special Day" with his groups for eight years. Here are some of Uri’s impressions of the "Special Day": "We thought of taking a day that is not connected to anything special, to tell the child that we are thinking of him, that we remember him, that he is special (hence the name "Special Day"). Because we set aside one particular day of the week, the kids are expecting and waiting for that day, but they do not know who is celebrating when and so the expectation and excitement is very high. At the 4 pm snack we present the child with the gift and cake and then distribute the cake as dessert after dinner.

From a therapeutic point of view we try to emphasize what distinguishes the child, something that is specific to that child. So, in addition to the cake and the gift, we set up a different activity every year. For example, in the first year, we asked every child in the group to say something special about the "Special Day" child. We had the same activity this past year, in year 4. It is interesting to see the differences between what was said in the first year, when they didn’t really know each other. That year the compliments related more to the child's appearance as opposed to this year when they mentioned things that related to the child's character. There was one year when the "Special Day" child was gifted one-on-one quality time with a caregiver in which he chose activities in the Home such as playing together, watching a movie together, baking something together, etc. The children wait in anticipation for the "Special Day". I hope we can count on our friends at Neve Ilan to continue this project forever".

Preparing the JHTC for the New School Year

The Jerusalem Hills Therapeutic Center’s maintenance team worked very hard over the summer vacation to prepare the living quarters and classrooms for the new school year. At the end of each year the classrooms and cottages receive special attention and repairs are carried out. The Kemper Group Home is also renewed. Led by the household manager and the head of maintenance and thanks to many volunteers, all the walls, doorframes and handrails were painted, furniture was repaired or replaced, etc.

Heartfelt thanks to many different volunteers from Kesselman & Kessleman offices, different police units, an army unit, pre army and student volunteers and a group of Christians from abroad who came to volunteer for the ICEJ.

Part of the renovation was carried out at the Carmel cottage, which had a makeover, thanks to a generous donation from the Isrotel Cramim Hotel. The whole cottage was painted and an interior designer gave the place a new and clean feel appropriate for the teenagers living in the unit. Among other things, they got a new music corner. Many thanks to the Isrotel Cramim Hotel that has been supporting the children and staff of the Children's Home for several years.

Caring for the Caring Staff

At JHTC we believe that along with the children, the caring staff also need a therapeutic framework. This is so that the adults caring for the children can create a consistent, comprehensive and ongoing support system for them. The consistency and ability of the staff to contain the children’s problems are fully dependent on the support and professional training they receive during their daily work. Working with the children is difficult and challenging and without proper professional training during the work routine, few of the staff would remain in their jobs for a significant period of time. This would lead to instability and direct harm to the children's rehabilitation processes. Thus, the work would be jeopardized and the children would not be successfully rehabilitated.

So how do we treat therapists? We provide all staff members who come into direct contact with the children with a training system that accompanies them throughout their years of work:

• Preparation days - Before the start of the school year, there are three preparation days where the direct staff of each group meets and talks about the characteristics of the children living in the Home, the process of separating from their parents' home, preparing for the beginning of the year and more.
• Counselor Training Course - During the first year of work, the new counselors undergo a six-month special training course presented by the director of the home and senior coordinator.
• Counselor Consultation – A weekly counseling session run by the coordinator and the psychologist/social worker of the unit.
• Staff meetings – All the direct staff of a unit meet weekly, led by the unit coordinator.
• Department Meetings – Each department meets once a week (social workers, psychologists, coordinators).

• Personal counseling sessions – Each staff member has a one-on-one counseling session as well as supervision by a senior staff member.

In addition, we hold seminars on child care, as well as on theoretical and clinical seminars. Professionals from Israel and abroad often visit the JHTC campus to see firsthand how we implement our unique in-service training network.