The Jerusalem Municipality has been running a special program that helps families where the parents suffer from some form of mental difficulties. The program allows them to cope with their daily struggles.
The mental struggles of parents’ can have serious effects on children. A parent with a mental illness such as depression, anxiety, or other psychotic disorders is unable to see what their children are going through, let alone be attentive to their needs. This has many negative consequences for the children themselves and the parents' inability to seek help.
Due to the lack of comprehensive treatments for families suffering from the mental illness of a parent, the Jerusalem Municipality has established a unique guidance program that aims to help support these families and enable the children to lead as normal a life as possible..
The results of this program, known as Rosh Hashanah (which is a play on words - it literally translates into ‘New Year’ in Hebrew, but Rosh also means head and the root of the word shana is the same as the word for 'change') have shown a significant improvement in functional abilities among both children and parents.
To date, the program has treated about 100 families, including about 180 children. Eight hospitalization cases where the hospitalization of parents have been avoided. 13 cases where the children ended up being cared for outside the home. Beyond the emotional significance, the program has resulted in savings of hundreds of thousands of shekels a year in medical and social welfare costs.
As part of the program, a social worker from the Welfare Department visits the patients' homes for two years, during which she meets with the parents and children, guides them, explains to the children how to care for the parent, and helps create an agenda and identify.
The social worker is also in constant contact with the parents' family caregivers in the community and with the children's educational staff, and assists in finding afternoon frameworks and supportive mental health care for the children if necessary.
Linoy Gigi and her partner who live in the Gilo neighborhood and are parents of two, participated in the program for about three years due to the mental disability they both suffer from. They were monitored closely by a social worker on behalf of the program about twice a week for three years.
Linoy says: "I suffered from mental states that included hospitalizations, but the program saved us, especially during the Corona period. We acquired appropriate tools for healthy parenting, and learned how to communicate with the children and set an example for them in a strong, warm and supportive presence."
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon says: "The Jerusalem Municipality helps families who face life challenges and complex family situations. The collaborations between the mental health and welfare systems in Jerusalem are groundbreaking and inspire other cities to develop unique models of this kind."
