Why we opened this campaign
Yael is a 27‑year‑old woman from Holon. From childhood she was empathetic, friendly, and always on the move. She graduated high school with honors, earning the full five units on her matriculation exams, completed her army service, and went on to university to become a mechanical engineer. Yael dreamed of founding a company that would build robots to help people and animals. She loved life, cared deeply for animals, and mapped out big plans for the future.
But everything changed with the outbreak of war on 7 October.
Yael now suffers from a severe form of PTSD. Constant anxiety, explosions, sirens, fatal events that happened near her home, the screams and cries of people — all of it shattered her inner world. She stopped going outside, dropped out of her studies, and withdrew into herself. For a long time she could not even leave her room. A psychiatrist has diagnosed her with panic disorder, agoraphobia, and profound functional impairment.
Today Yael lives with her mother and younger brother, who is on the autism spectrum and requires constant care. All responsibility for the family rests on the mother, who is doing everything she can to support her children, but the family’s resources have run out and they are in serious financial distress.
Yael urgently needs treatment: medication, regular psychotherapy, and cognitive‑behavioural therapy (CBT), which in her case could markedly improve her condition and restore her ability to leave the house, study, work, and once again be part of society. Unfortunately, the cost of treatment is high, and the family cannot afford it without help.
Yael and her mother have turned to our foundation for assistance on several fronts. Some issues are already being addressed through the Smart Chesed programme. Thanks to our social workers, an application for disability benefits has been submitted, and guardianship proceedings are under way (Yael is currently unable to make independent decisions). Yet beyond legal and social support, the family also needs direct financial aid — to pay for Yael’s therapy and to settle their mounting debts.
Any contribution you can make will be an enormous step toward restoring this family’s quality of life.
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