What happens when a young girl from Lod goes on maternity leave? She is looking for a nice place to sit, drink coffee, chat with a friend, get out of the house a bit. A year ago, when Hila Svil (27) gave birth to her eldest son Nebo, she walked around the city with the baby's stroller and found nothing. "It just wasn't. There are all kinds of things in Lod that are adapted to cultures: for example, the President's Borax, which if you want Borax and black coffee - this is the place for you. But if you want something a little younger and nicer, like there is in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv - you'll have to travel."
So what does a young and energetic girl who just needs coffee do?
She opens a cafe.
And thanks to the fact that Hila is a social worker whose entire life is aimed at social goals, the "Loda" cafe that she launched a few weeks ago meets another need besides caffeine: it employs people and women who need reinforcement in the world of employment and are on the edge of the risk continuum.
We will soon understand what this means.
Coffee Loda,
Riki (22, pseudonym), born in Lod, is one of these women.
She started working at "Luda" from the day it opened last August after being referred to it by the social worker accompanying her at the "Heart Space" association, which treats at-risk girls.
Ricky admits to herself that she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and manic depression.
When I asked to speak to her - she was busy.
There were many customers in the cafe and she ran among them, taking orders and taking out dishes, clearing dishes and getting paid.
From the outside, she looked like any other waitress, and only the frequent cigarette breaks testified to the tension she was under.
How did your mental struggle manifest itself?
"Mainly because I don't know what the next day will look like - a black day or a white day, a happy day or a sad day. There are days when I get up and say to God, 'I thank you,' and there are days when I ask him why I got up at all. I have tantrums, depressions and outbursts of extreme moods. The post-trauma destroys everything for me - friendships, relationships, work, studies, everything. I don't really live, I meet people along the way, people change in my life because it's hard to endure with me. There were times when I had even less control over it. Today I'm making progress with my recovery, I'm healthier than I was. But I still sometimes have what are called 'disconnections'."
What are disconnections?
"It's a situation where you're not really in reality, not in this world. Sometimes you're in a good place, and sometimes it takes you back to where you were thrown naked somewhere on the street."
And when you were dumped naked on the street, did you have a family that picked you up, that took care of you?
"My family always reached out to me, but they didn't know what my situation really was and I'm not sure they are aware of it today. The situation was not visible, I would not tell. It was only when I reached the 'space of the heart' that I began to open up and tell, until then I was coping alone."
Ricky's nightmare began when she was three years old: her father, who was an alcoholic and a drug addict, used to beat her mother, who would sleep in the same bed with her in the hope that the violence against her would decrease.
Later the parents divorced, and her mother had to support her children herself.
When she was 15, her grandfather passed away, and to deal with the grief, she got drunk, and a guy with whom she was previously in a relationship took advantage of her situation and raped her.
"The responsibility I have here keeps me going."
Cafe Loda, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
"I was a virgin and very drunk. I didn't even know what was going on. I realized I was raped only when I found out I was pregnant," she says.
The second time was much more difficult: on Yom Kippur, when she was completely sober from drugs and alcohol due to the fast, the same rapist came to ask for forgiveness.
"Then he raped me again, but this time 'alive', without the influence of anything, without anything to blur.
"There were many other small traumas that accumulated. Then I met Ella, the executive officer of Merhav Halab.
Thanks to her, the things I felt started to get names and I started to understand what it was about.
I realized that I always had disconnections and anxieties.
And when I have tantrums it's not because of drugs but because of something deep in the mind.
At first I understood, I let things go, and then I started to accept myself as I am.
That's where the healing began."
"Light up the street"
Riki loves the work at "Luda" and what the place brings out of her.
"I have a love for the kitchen, it makes me feel good. Hila, Hana and food make me feel good. People - they don't make me feel good. If this job overall didn't make me feel good, I wouldn't be here. It's hard for me to work, it's hard for me to get up in the morning and come I experienced two anxiety attacks and blackouts here at the cafe. But even if I have an anxiety attack, I go out for a cigarette and a glass of cold water and come back. It helps me overcome the anxiety.
Cafe Loda, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
"I know I have a responsibility, and this responsibility keeps me going. It's good for me. I've never lasted a month at work, and here I'm successful - because of the concept, because of the attitude, because of the way they surround me here. In the morning, I arrived in a bad way. Contrary to the usual in any job Otherwise, here they fight over me. Here they say 'everything is good, wake up for yourself'. It's not for nothing."
Hila grew up in Modiin in an observant family, and the social garden was sown in her as a child.
"My father and mother are giving people. My grandfather is blind and my grandmother is disabled, so there is always someone who needs to be helped. This is what we saw at home. Even though my grandfather is blind, he founded a charity for needy families in Jerusalem.
"When I was in the 8th grade, I heard that they wanted to establish a branch of 'Krembo Wings' in Modiin, but there are financial problems that prevent the establishment. So I took a friend of mine and suggested that we raise money together for this. So we sat, two girls in the 8th grade, and thought about how to make a happening that would bring in money . I remember friends laughing at us. In the bottom line, we raised NIS 30,000. After a week, the initiative of 'Wings of Karambo' came to us and told us that thanks to us the branch was established, and it exists to this day."
She studied social work at Sapir College, during her studies she got married and worked in Sderot at the "Gota" cafe, which employs at-risk youth, accompanies them and helps them enlist.
During her studies, the couple lived in the student village of the "Eyal" association in Moshav Yachini.
From there they moved to a similar village in Lod.
Cafe Loda, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
"Eyals is an association that engraves on its banner the trinity of initiators-dreamers-achievers and Ashera proves it time and time again. The association's villages are mainly located in the geographical periphery. There is a village of the association in Lod because it is a social periphery," she explains.
Let's go back to the matter of coffee.
So what does a girl do etc?
She goes to the city hall and starts tracking.
"I asked them why there isn't a branch of a coffee chain like Aroma here. They explained to me that because there are negative stigmas about the city, chains don't take the risk of opening a branch here for two reasons: they aren't sure it will succeed, and worse than that - they don't know if they won't hurt their business ".
In the middle of the conversation, as if from a well-stitched play, the owner of the neighboring business comes to our table with a brisk and furious step and starts shouting about Hila.
Something about the bicycle that one of the customers or waiters left at her door.
Hila tries to maintain her composure and calm her down, apologize and promise that it won't happen again, but she only gets hotter, raises her voice.
When the angry business owner leaves, Hila's eyes fill with tears.
"Do you see what I have to deal with? When we got here, all the businesses on the street were happy to meet us. The stunning book here also offered us to spread out on the sidewalk in front of his business, everyone was cheering, except for her. But that's part of the thing here. I knew there would be challenges."
Dodi Essig ("the stunning barber"), from the barbershop next to the cafe, hears the screams and leaves.
He is certainly proud, having opened a barbershop on the street already in 1996.
"It's blessed what they did here, it lights up the street. A lot of high-quality guys come here thanks to the coffee. It's fun to see these people here. Just keep it up, just praise them. The whole street got a different look thanks to them and that's good for us, the business owners We strongly support them, because in a mixed city there should also be other things, not just murders, drugs and crime.
"I don't remember in the last 30 years anyone who opened something here that lasted. I give my soul here to keep the place. People come because of me, not because of the place, you could say even despite the place. The mayor is also supportive, he is alert and interested and asks All the time, what is needed. As a business owner who has been here for a long time, it is clear to me that this young girl should only be praised."
Atmosphere at the "Loda" cafe in Lod, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
with Florentine touches
Hila's beauty stems from her.
She has a self-confidence that does not come only from her beauty or a good education, but that of idealistic young people who still believe in goodness.
This is also the belief that led her to Orit Ofer, the cultural coordinator at the municipality, to whom she presented the idea of opening a social cafe.
Ofer was skeptical.
It has been burned many times in the past as initiatives like Saville's have grown and withered time and time again.
And yet, something in Hila made her mobilize and give her venture a chance as well.
Who knows, she told herself, maybe this time it will work.
Hila put her little son in the stroller and set out to plow the city in search of a successful place for her cafe, which was already woven in her imagination.
She made her home on Gartbul Street, which used to be a lively place and today is mostly bustling with street food.
But she saw the potential of the small street and imagined the trendy Florentine neighborhood in Tel Aviv.
"There used to be flourishing businesses here, today there is no chance that anyone will just move here. The chaos between the Arabs and the Jews turned the area off. I'm not inventing anything, I'm just returning a crown to the old days," she says and smiles, and it seems that the ordeal with the neighbor is already behind her.
almost.
Hannah at the "Luda" cafe, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
Unlike the franchisee of a large chain that is placed from the outside, Hila already knew the complexity of the city and its various cultural groups, and began to recruit partners from within.
"I understood in Maori that the municipality would only take it seriously if I took it seriously. 120 students from the Eyal association live in the city. I presented the project to them and explained why it was important to me - and they all liked the idea. The association provided me with a crowdfunding service, and through it we raised 53,000 Shekels for construction and renovation.
"Eyal also covers my salary, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to be here, I have to support my family. At the same time, I met with the lottery, who donated all the equipment for the cafe worth several tens of thousands of shekels. Even the Aroma chain donated equipment to us Very generously, and also the amazing 'Agro Cafe' from the Halla Valley."
But Hila didn't just need equipment or money, she needed knowledge and experience.
And if she has no experience - she will learn from the experience of others.
"For a year I went around the country in social businesses to learn how they operate and what helps them succeed. For example, 'Cafe Shlava', which employs people with disabilities, but also regular cafes such as 'Story Garden' in Saker Garden in Jerusalem. Managers, entrepreneurs and owners of these places They sat with me and taught me everything from the beginning, what works and what doesn't work in this field. This is truly the generosity of life. People opened their hearts and pockets to help us."
Hospitalizations as a matter of routine
The place is full.
Mothers on maternity leave breastfeed their babies, couples on a day off next to business meetings.
Hana Persico, the manager of the kitchen, and Hila are running between the kitchen and the tables because some of the girls who were supposed to report for duty did not arrive today.
One had a seizure at night, and two others just don't respond.
This is typical.
In a place like this you never know what will happen each day.
"That's part of the point of dealing with contestants, it's challenging," both say.
Cafe Loda has no profit goals, and the money paid by the customers is intended only for the purpose of maintaining the place.
This is also reflected in the low prices on the cute menu.
For example, the creative sandwiches served with sourdough bread, bagels or croissants cost only NIS 36.
Hana (26) is just making such a bagel.
She spreads pesto, sprinkles cheese.
She knew Hila in her previous incarnation, when they lived together in Moshav Yachini near Sderot.
Persico is a member of the "Shades" association, which works with mentally challenged people and also operates a cafe and event hall that employ people on the risk continuum.
"It is very challenging to work with contestants. There are many difficulties in it but also a lot of satisfaction. There is a daily difficulty because sometimes the girls are windy, for example today. But even when they arrive it is challenging: they experience extreme changes in moods, which can lead to terrible screams one moment, half an hour Then - a hug. It's unsettling. But in the end there's a good bond with them, it's a bond built, and it's worth it," she says while arranging peppers on the bagel, on the way to another satisfied customer.
"Loda", photo: Yehoshua Yosef
The women and girls who are on the edge of the risk continuum are actually at risk and at the same time face a difficult mental state.
This situation is sometimes the result of past traumatic experiences, which can cause damage to self-identity and self-image and additional difficulties.
Hila: "Most of them didn't finish the army - if they enlisted at all - and they don't have any work experience, because they go into or out of hospitalizations, they went through a very difficult life reality. There are some who have a relationship with their parents and some who don't at all, and there are some who even walk around the street ".
When it comes to Lod, it is hard to ignore the disturbances that happened in the city in May of last year, during the Wall Guard operation.
When I ask Hila if there is friction with the Arab population - her eyes light up surprisingly.
Her optimism makes her hear the question positively.
"Unequivocally. Arab women come here with their children, upload photos to Instagram and tell their friends about the place. What's most amazing is that they sit next to Ethiopian men, the ones who came from a culture of coffee. There is a real meeting here, and that's what I wanted: original Ludaim from all The backgrounds and cultures enjoy good coffee, a good atmosphere, and keep coming back. There are also street urchins that we sometimes give them a delicious sandwich as a donation, and they also find the best in this place."
Moran Ofir-Susman sits on the comfortable low couches of Cafe Loda and chats with friends.
They are all on maternity leave, the babies sleep in strollers by their side.
A rare moment.
"We have been living in Lod for two and a half years, and there has always been a lack of nice cafes, places to sit. Until it opened, we had to go to Modi'in, Rehovot, or Ramla. Since this place opened, I have been there three times. This is the only place I can go to with the stroller When I don't have a car.
"There are a lot of young people here and it's nice here. The truth is that if I hadn't known in advance that these girls were dealing with what they were going through, I wouldn't have noticed. In the basic interaction with them, everything is normal, but I haven't had the chance to talk to any of them in depth yet."
Yael Frankel, who is sitting next to her, is happy that there is finally a place to go out in Lod that is not based on beer and shish-besh.
"Suddenly here I feel like going out in Jerusalem. It's a classy place, the coffee is delicious and the menu is interesting. In short - fun."
Employment - and a therapeutic envelope
Hila emphasizes that, as an employer, she was careful not to hide the stories of the girls who work at "Loda" when she opened the place: "One of the amazing things that happens at the cafe is that we only get to know them while working. When they come to us, I don't ask them what their life story is, and accordingly I accept them to work. I see myself as an employer who wants to provide needs-adjusted employment to these girls, to make them the first line in their resumes, to give them a new and additional direction to move forward and develop.
"The plan is to help them succeed in entering the labor market, to acquire real experience, protected and adapted to their needs, to increase their self-confidence, their sense of belonging. These are girls who, if they do not work for us, will sit at home, where the depression threshold rises, the anxiety threshold rises, and this Not benevolent with them.
"At the same time, we are now looking for scholarships for students, who will work here like I worked at Cafe Gotta in Sderot. If we succeed, these girls will work alongside people who have alternatives in life, which will give them hope and inspiration. This meeting will enrich both sides. I hope that the staff itself will become to a diverse group that will go through a significant process together."
The women employed at Cafe Loda receive a three-month salary from Merhav Halev.
At the same time, Hila is trying to recruit more sponsors so that the project can continue.
"I don't make millions here, I don't get up to work for the money," Riki explains.
"People say to me, 'What, are you a sucker?'. No, I'm not a sucker. What it does to me inside is worth it to me even if I do it voluntarily. I know that even if the budget runs out soon, as they say, I will continue to volunteer here because A therapeutic envelope that helps me."
Hila: "Part of my role as director is fundraising, partners, etc. It excites me like crazy, because it is enough for them to work here for a year so that they can go out into the world. But three months is not enough for anything."
Hila says that from the point of view of the Eyal association, "Luda" is a model that should be replicated throughout the country, and become a network of supported employment that can provide a young and fresh cultural place in the social and geographic periphery.
"Normal employers don't always have the patience to deal with someone who has had a psychotic attack and because of that doesn't show up the next morning for the shift, or someone who experiences anxiety and needs to take more cigarette breaks in the middle of work. But we understand them and have created a model of work-rest-work-rest to help them continue to function.
"As an attorney, I have the tools to help them.
We build a personal plan with goals and objectives so that they can move forward;
On the other hand, we demand from them a high work output, not giving up and not showing mercy.
We believe in them, and that's why we have high demands and expectations to reach our goals.
It's a bit like raising a child."
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