The Schusterman Emergency Center for Children and Families was established in 1992 and is an urban-regional service shared by the Ministry of Welfare and the Jerusalem Municipality. The center provides a solution for children from preschool to 14 years of age, who have been exposed to cumulative mental/physical/sexual abuse and severe neglect, and are at risk and in danger. Parallel to treating these children, we always treat their parents. We also cooperate with referring parties and family therapists.
The Center operates two units: the internal unit and the therapeutic-advisory unit. The internal unit takes in children who have been removed from their homes by court order due to abuse and risk requiring immediate removal from home. These children are transferred to the center for comprehensive and in-depth diagnosis and treatment. They study and stay at the center under boarding school conditions. At the end of the process, recommendations are formulated for further treatment. In the therapeutic-advisory unit, ambulatory care is given to children and parents in cases of abuse, severe trauma and persistent parental dysfunction. These children need diagnosis, treatment and protection. Our unit’s treatment is often the last therapeutic alternative for these families before removing the child to an out-of-home placement setting. We provide individual, dyadic, family or group therapy.
The center employs an experienced and skilled multi-professional team, entrusted with providing protection, diagnosis and assessment, and therapeutic intervention in times of crisis. Our therapeutic approach is to help children and parents cope with trauma while trying to preserve parenthood; to help the family lever the crisis to a turnaround; to bring about a change in the familial function; to enable the construction of a good treatment plan; and, if possible, allow the child to stay with their family.
Partners in Our Work
The unit operates under the funding, cooperation and supervision of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs. We are also grateful to all our loyal partners, who help us do our work better: the Schusterman Family Philanthropies – Israel, the Rosenfeld Family Charitable Trust – England, and private donors. Special thanks to all the dedicated volunteers who help us vigorously.