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Foreword by Mrs. Shelly Hoshen, International President and Chairperson of the Association

Hand in Hand: List of Projects

Foreword by Mrs. Shelly Hoshen
International President and Chairperson of the Association

It all started on a chance encounter with a teenage girl who was on the brink of committing suicide in the corridor of a school where I worked as a psychological counselor. This meeting immediately sent warning signals flashing through my mind which led to the idea of founding an association to support children and adolescents in distress. Extending a hand to these children by encouragement and a smile is how "Hand in Hand" came into being.

In 1982, the "Listening Ear" volunteer service became operational. It targeted children and young people whose unheard cry for help demanded action. I have heard many chilling stories over the years, since the "Hand in Hand" Association was founded, responding to the unheard anguish of tens of thousands of youngsters who have nobody to turn to.

They may be children from affluent families, whose parents have no time to listen to them, children whose parents cannot afford the medical surgery that would save their lives, or children who haven't had a hot meal for days or benefited from warmth and compassion for months. It is painful to realize that just a few kind words can work miracles with some of those youngsters. To think that a child's joyful smile can be achieved so easily, with a bowl of hot soup, a small investment with enormous returns.

I founded the Association with the help of psychologists, social workers and thousands of volunteers who worked without pay, from their own homes or in makeshift offices. Step by step, with their unending devotion and effort, we managed to broaden our range of services to include "Listening Ear" and "Youth listening to Youth", the Foundation for Saving Human Life and a "Warm Home for Children" which provides socially or economically deprived children with their only option of getting a hot meal and needed attention. And lastly, the "Computer Center" which is a relatively new facility that targets children who are deprived of the opportunities offered by the modern world.

These endeavors are achieved with catching conviction. Hundreds of goodhearted people are swept along by it, opening their hearts to the children. People who work around the clock to offer them an immediate response and the seeds of hope.

As we all know, giving is actually receiving. Nothing shines brighter than the glowing face of a child recuperating from the transplant that has saved his life. I would do anything in my power, for even a single child, but when we join forces, we can do so much more for thousands of children.

My heart is full of thanks and admiration for everyone working with us in this wonderful mitzvah. Thanks to all the generous donors who open their hearts and wallets the whole year round and I thank all the volunteers, totally dedicated to our common goal.

If I had to write down the children's thanks, there wouldn't be enough paper in the world. There wouldn't be enough pencils to draw them. So, in the name of all these children, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Hand in Hand

THERE IS NO GREATER HAPPINESS THAN A CHILD'S SMILE

Children's eyes reflect the whole world - the sadness, the hopes and the joy.

Children's eyes disclose what they can't always say in words.

And there isn't always someone who listens to them.

When these children grow up, they bring with them to adulthood all their childhood ordeals, and pain, often is the result of never knowing anyone who wanted to listen. Even for a single smile from a single child, it was worth founding "Hand in Hand".

International President
Mrs. Shelly Hoshen

Hand in Hand: List of Projects

The Warm Home (Bait Cham) Project

The "Warm Home" project is one of the projects initiated by the "Yad BeYad" (Hand in Hand) Association, established for children in distress in 1982 by Mrs. Shelly Hoshen who serves as the Association's President. 14 "Homes" have been established around the country so far. Hundreds of children aged 4-7 are cared for at these homes.

The establishment of these "Warm Homes" and the day-to-day operation is made possible by volunteer work and donations.

Links with the Community

The "Warm Homes" constitute an integral part of the community. The staff of the "Warm Homes" maintain an ongoing cooperative association with the local authorities, the social workers and the Ministry of Welfare. The children are referred to the "Warm Homes" by the local social worker, and care is taken not to detach them from their families. The loving care bestowed upon the children at the "Warm Homes" protects them from exposure to violence and to the influence of the streets and provides them with a chance for a decent happy life.

EVERY DONATION COUNTS

The cost of maintaining a single child at the "Warm Home" is about 1000 NIS per month. It is easy to calculate how much money we need in order to care for so many children for one year.

In order to provide these children with the love and care they receive at the "Warm Homes" a heightened public awareness is required, in the form of volunteering as well as charitable donations.

Generous patrons in Israel and abroad take part in this valuable project, and their primary reward is knowing that they have helped provide a warm home to a child in Israel.

We call upon you, to make your donation so that another child may have the benefit of a happier childhood. You are cordially invited to take part in this important endeavour.

Yad Be'Yad" (Hand in Hand) Association
36 Haneviim St. Tel Aviv, Israel, 64072
TEL 3-6203141
FAX 3-6203138
Warm Home (Bait Cham) – A loving supportive corner for kids
When a mother cannot fulfill her motherly duties, who looks after her children? We, the people who care, have no other choice but to respond to this challenge, assume this important role and provide these children with their most pressing needs: a happy childhood and a warm home.

A "Warm Home" means simply: a place where these children feel welcome, where they are looked after, where they are fostered and provided with a loving and caring environment that is the natural birthright of every child.

Warm Home (Bait Cham) – The home for children whose families are dysfunctional
Liora (an alias) has been a resident at a "Warm Home" in Tel Aviv for two years. Her father left home and her mother is a drug addict who cannot fulfill her duties. Since Liora is at an age when minors must remain under the care of the mother, she spends the nights with her mother at home. In the afternoons, however, after kindergarten, she is picked up by our organized transport and brought to the "Warm Home" where she remains until the evening. This is her true home, where a loving professional staff - a school or kindergarten teacher, a social worker and specialized psychologist look after her well-being. Here she is bathed, fed a hot meal and is cared for and nurtured emotionally. The love she is surrounded with provides her with the feeling of a home that is so important and is the right of every child.

WE CAN ONLY ACHIEVE THIS THROUGH YOUR HELP

Highlights

The "Listening Ear" Project

The "Listening Ear" hotline was set up by Mrs. Shelly Hoshen, President of the "Hand in Hand" Association, in 1982. It is operated by a team of volunteers responding to callers in distress.

They listen to callers and respond to their problems.

Listening Ear volunteers staff the help-lines in a team that is made up of educators, social workers and psychologists. All of them have been specially trained at courses and workshops on listening and extending help.

Israel's Ministry of Health has approved the project, as have other entities like Bar-Ilan University's School of Social Work, and the Adler Institute.

Listening Ear is unique in that its volunteers learn specific skills that provide callers with a sense of security and relief, together with solutions to their problems and information about relevant organizations. A simple formula, that has been proven, to prevent cases of suicide, violence, drug abuse and to taking to the streets with all the grim implications thereof.

Incoming calls are made from all groups that make up Israel's population at every age group, and they reflect a wide range of problems. These include violence in all forms, between peers, in the family, at school, in the army or on the street, incest, domestic problems, intimate relations, adolescence, loneliness, illness, harassment, suicide, becoming religious or abandoning a religious life for a secular one, all forms of addiction, queries from soldiers and their parents, mental disorders and stress situations.

People calling Listening Ear are not asked to identify themselves.

Distribution of calls to the "Listening Ear" hotline

Family 20%
Sex 20%
Economic distress25%
Mental 19%
Violence 16%

The Youth to Youth Hot-Line Project

In recent years Israeli society is faced with a relatively new phenomenon - an alarming increase in youth violence. The murder of a taxi driver by two youths, in 1995, lit a warning light that led the President of the Yad BeYad Association, Mrs. Shelly Hoshen, to initiate the "Youth Hot-Line" project. By its definition, the project offers "a listening ear" to every boy or girl who feels the need to talk discretely to a peer who is willing to listen. The educational reasoning behind the project is based on the much preferred practice of preventive act. It involves youth who are considered responsible and mature enough to take upon themselves an active role in preventing youth crime from happening.

The goals are as follows:

The Human Life Saving Fund Project

The "Hand in Hand" Human Life Saving Fund was established by the "Hand in Hand" Association. The fund provides assistance to patients who urgently need operations and transplants overseas. The Fund was founded in 1988 by Mrs. Shelly Hoshen, following a telephone call she received from a child who told her that he was dying from a terminal disease and that his parents were financially unable to assist him in getting medical help. Approximately 470 patients have been sent to Europe and the U.S.A. for heart operations, transplants, etc. The Fund supplies monetary and administrative assistance only after the patient has met with the requirements of the Health Ministry and the "Hand in Hand Human Life Saving Fund". All patients are treated on an equal basis and according to the available funds.

The Jaffa Computer Center for children Project

The Jaffa Computer Center for children was made possible by a donation from Mr. Nathan Levinger and his family, in memory of Martha and Jack Binick, of blessed memory.

Target population: Children aged 4-7 and their parents.

In its initial phase, the program is aimed at catering to 100 children throughout the school year. Children and parents are referred by social workers or teachers.

Project's Objective

To provide opportunities for young children and their parents who have no experience with computers, and, as a result, lag behind their school mates who come from higher socio-economical strata. These children are excluded from the everyday social dynamics at school and feel rejected and frustrated.

Shared learning by children and parents improves parent-child relationship. Activities begin after school hours. Professional training by coaches and teachers is given to the children and parents. A range of activities is offered, such as surfing the web and computer contests.

The Hand in Hand Association is a non-profit organization that has been active for the last 20 years, for the benefit of needy children, both mentally and economically. Anyone who had ever experienced hunger, mental and economic distress, will understand the helplessness of these children and will comprehend the misery these unfortunate children experience day in and day out. A hot cooked meal, a warm hug, a loving family, those are the basic needs every child deserves to have.

True, it is not always easy to correct the world, but thanks to thousands of volunteers, psychologists and social workers, we have managed to bring back the faith and joy of life to thousands of children.

With your kind donations, we shall be able to continue to listen, support, help and care for these children. Your help will bring back the smiles on their faces and give them hope for a good life and future.

With blessings from the Hand in Hand Association

SAD CHILDREN ARE STARTING TO SMILE - IT CAN HAPPEN, THANKS TO YOU!

Hand in Hand Association – General information

"Hand in Hand" is a non-profit association, established in 1982 by Mrs. Shelly Hoshen, who serves as its President. It is guided by the educational philosophy which maintains that each child carries his, or her, own blessing into the world and hence deserves nurturing and love to ensure a strong foundation for a productive life and opportunity to reach his or her full potential.

On this basis, "Hand in Hand" offers to hold the hands of children in need in Israel and care for them. Since its independence, in 1948, the State of Israel has made an unprecedented national effort to educate and take care of its children. Yet, unfortunately, far too many children suffer from neglect in a disadvantaged or an abusive living environment. Many of these children live under their parents' care, who have neither the resources nor the ability to help their own children to bridge the gap. Many come from new immigrant or single parent families who often are in an economic crisis, with limited income or living on welfare.

As Israel has strained to meet the spiraling needs of a population that has swelled by 25% over the past decade, there are critical human needs that are simply not met.

The stress of coping with life and the difficulties of adjusting to the Israeli society means that parents simply cannot give the most needed attention and support to their children. Perhaps even more alarming is the fact that these children are often trapped in a dysfunctional and violent home environment. Whatever the causes or combination of factors are, there are children who fall through the cracks. The enrichment essential for them to thrive, is provided only during the five hour school day. No further opportunity after hours is offered to these children to develop their talents.

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