Most of the citizens have developed their own form of defense in order to continue with their normal life activities.

However, many of the victims of these terror attacks suffer from post-traumatic symptoms which include flashbacks, nightmares, and other fears which preclude them from going on with their everyday lives.

In recent years, as a result of the increased incidents of terror throughout the world, and especially in Israel, new knowledge about the treatment of trauma has been developed. Research has shown that short-term, focused treatment on trauma is essential and can prevent long-term, stress-related illnesses. However, the effectiveness of this treatment depends on the specialized skills of the therapists. For this reason, it is important to train professionals in this new field. In Israel today, a large number of the people who have been victims, directly or indirectly, do not receive therapeutic services because of inaccessibility to the areas under threat as well as because of the expense.

The Department of Social Services is working to establish a Trauma and Bereavement Unit to make professional therapeutic services for residents of our 34 communities accessible and affordable. This Unit will also train professionals in the field of trauma counseling and will organize training programs for the therapists as well as support for all those involved in working with trauma victims.

In order to establish this Unit, a professional collaborative relationship has been formed with Amutat Natal, which provides therapy for victims of terror, and the Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petach Tikvah and its clinic for the treatment of trauma. These collaborations have been established in order to share knowledge and establish professional cooperation, as well as to take advantage of existing services.

During the past several years, more than 60 people from the Samaria Regional Council have been killed in terror-related incidents. According to statistics, between 6-10% of the population suffer from partial or full post-traumatic symptoms. This means that in the Samaria Regional Council there is between 1500 and 2000 men, women and children who need focused therapeutic intervention.

The therapeutic unit in Samaria will supply immediate and accessible services to all citizens who need it. The unit will be able to receive referrals and to recommend different forms of treatment taking into account the entire family's needs, strengths and available treatments. In certain cases, the Unit will be a referral agent and will arrange treatment from other agencies.
The unit will take into account each family's finances when charging for its services.

Here's how you can help….
A donation of US$ 50,000 will provide for the Unit's personnel expenses ($30,000) and for subsidized fees ($20,000).