AMIT Frisch Beit Hayeled, a residential community in the Gilo suburb of Jerusalem, is a safe, welcoming refuge for almost 100 children, ages 8 to 15. These children are rescued from lives that were filled with violence and hopelessness. AMIT’s unique pioneering model creates surrogate families, each one led by a young couple dedicated to “parenting” approximately a dozen children.
Recent changes in governmental policy regarding at-risk children have resulted in changes in the composition of the Beit Hayeled family. Children under age 8 are no longer removed from their biological families except for in the most extreme cases, and there is an increased emphasis on in-home care. As a result, Beit Hayeled now has children aged 8-15 in residence, and there are currently over 50 such children. They are divided by age and gender into five mishpachtonim (surrogate-family residences), three for girls and two for boys.
At the same time, there has been an increase in children who live in their families’ homes but are in need of a non-residential care situation for the daytime hours. Thirty-one such children are members of the Beit Hayeled family, in the three “external mishpachtonim.” These frameworks provide the same care and nurturing to the children as the residential mishpachtonim, as the children arrive before school in order to eat breakfast and get ready for their day with their mishpachton parents. They then return to Beit Hayeled after school, where they join the residential children for afterschool activities, homework and lessons, and supper, before heading back to their homes to sleep.
These vulnerable children, living and learning at Beit Hayeled, experience a nurturing environment, where they feel safe and cared for—in many cases, for the first time in their lives. Strong role models help the children learn to trust again and rebuild their confidence.
At Beit Hayeled, there is a strong belief that each child’s life is unique. Each child receives an individual therapeutic plan that addresses developmental, emotional, mental, educational and social needs. All therapies are provided by trained staff, working with a team of devoted teachers, who use individualized development plans to help transform each child’s experience from suffering to joy.
The results speak for themselves. A recent study revealed that 92 percent of the graduates of the Beit Hayeled program have been able to escape their families’ vicious cycle of crime and violence and continue on to higher education after serving in the army or performing national service.
