Last night I spoke to Devorah, a thirty-three-year-old resident of Sderot. She has been a client of ATZUM’s for the last two years, since a missile hit her apartment and injured her and her family.
Devorah is a divorced mother of two. She was no stranger to challenge, though the trauma of the explosion left her battling with difficult psychological impacts that she was not prepared for.
ATZUM has helped with the children’s education needs and has arranged for Devorah to have budget counseling. We are also working hard to sort through the bureaucratic process that will enable Devorah to own her own apartment in a government housing complex in Sderot.
However, we think that she can do more, so we are trying to encourage her to take the next step towards independence.
While working with victims of terror, it is important to provide a certain amount of “pushing”. Often, because of the tough situation they’re in, our clients will only see the small picture: their headaches, their fear of the unknown. They don’t see the bigger picture: the sense of achievement that comes from overcoming the next challenge, the self-confidence that comes from getting a job, the financial security that comes from earning a salary. It is up to the social worker to be the coach: to engage clients in expanding their horizons, opening their eyes to a broader perspective – and to push each individual to take just one more step forward, towards independence and success.
I have been working with Devorah for some time now. She did not finish high school, so I have been pushing her to choose her field of study and complete her high school degree or train in a vocational training and ATZUM will provide assistance. However, she thinks that she is not ready. She has been suffering from headaches and too much stress and cannot concentrate. She does not feel confident in her ability to succeed in any kind of academic environment. The bottom line is: she is afraid.
That’s where my “pushing” role comes in. We have decided that Devorah’s next step is vocational counseling and I hope that we can facilitate this in the near future.
Karyn London M.S.W. Director, The Roberta Project for Survivors of Terror
