In 2017, The Fellowship helped open and reinforce the Sha’ar HaNegev Trauma Center, located just half a mile from Gaza, in response to the community’s growing need for healing and support following terror attacks and during times of war.
Since October 7, 2023, that need has only gotten more dire. The Fellowship has continued to support the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council and Trauma Center by providing grants to expand its facilities and services. The most recent grant funded the addition of a yurt (a sturdy, domed, tent-like structure) at the Treatment Complex between Be’er Sheva and Ashkelon, creating a welcoming treatment space that helps reduce economic and geographic barriers to mental health care.
Trauma Center Director Nadav Peretz says, “Our partnership with The Fellowship began before the war, long before October 7th, and has intensified since then. Our ability to provide solutions to problems is thanks to the Trauma Center – both for children and adults. Now, thanks to the yurt, many more children in Sha’ar HaNegev will be able to receive solutions.”
The yurt is strategically located near area schools, making it more accessible for students who need support after the school day. The center itself has also expanded significantly. According to Israel’s Collective Action for Resilience (ICAR), Sha’ar HaNegev employed 25 therapists before the war. Today, that number has grown to more than 200 to meet the increasing mental health needs of the surrounding communities.
An inauguration ceremony for the yurt was held on June 22 and attended by Fellowship and Sha’ar HaNegev staff, along with Regional Council officials, at the Treatment Complex that bears the name of Fellowship founder Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, z”l.
“A partnership like the one we have with The Fellowship is a special partnership,” said Dept. Head of the Regional Council, Adam Ezran. “Many people come here, and they don’t always ask what we need. The Fellowship asks what we need and helps us with the important component. The yurt is located close to our schools, allowing us to provide healing alongside development. This place is very important and gives us the ability to do the things that really matter.”
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).
