Raising a child with a disability or a serious disease, presents the family with many challenges which not only affect each family member separately, but also impacts on the entire family unit and relationships among family members.
A family with a seriously ill child faces an entirely new set of needs and challenges that cause tension and anxiety. The family is forced to focus all of its resources and strength in order to cope with this situation.
For children with a chronic illness, this is not a transient condition. The family will have to cope throughout the child's life, with varying levels of stress, from relatively calm periods to very turbulent and stressful ones.
Social and community support can contribute significantly in enabling the family to cope.
We, at Simcha Layeled, believe that a family supported in a manner corresponding to its needs, is able to find the strength and personal resources in order to cope and maintain a normal life routine, as much as possible. We, therefore, attach great importance to accompanying the whole family, in addition to the personal work carried out with the child.
Simcha Layeled offers various services and activities to the families throughout the year:
- Parent support groups hosted by social workers.
- Integrating social worker students to accompany the children and their families throughout the entire process of learning to cope with their challenges.
- Parent evenings throughout the year.
- Mothers retreat - 3 days of vacation, relaxation and fun dedicated to accumulating strength in order to continue to care for the child and the family. Mothers enjoy diverse attractions and enrichment workshops as well as develop personal relationships with one another. Approximately 80 mothers may participate in each retreat.
- Home visits by diverse team members throughout the year.
- Continuous and constant contact between the coordinators of the mentoring groups and the children, including their families.
- Financial assistance to the families, several times a year (before various holidays).
There are 250 families regularly supported and accompanied by the organization.