More than 300 foster children in communities in southern Israel live under the threat of missiles and the constant sound of sirens. There are a similar number in the north of the country, where routine is broken from time to time by sirens that undermine children's lives.
Israeli athletes delight children from the Gaza envelope who dwell in Shefayim
Over 60 foster children have evacuated with their foster families, including about 20 children with special needs.
The reality created by war is complex. On the one hand, there are foster families whose biological children have been murdered or injured and they have to deal with this harsh reality, along with continuing to raise foster children. On the other hand, there are the foster children themselves who suffer from double trauma. These are children who experienced a feeling of abandonment when they were removed from their biological parents' home, and now experience it again, either because they have to leave home and move to a safer place or because one of the parents was recruited.
Michal Dvir, chairwoman of Ogen for Foster Families, which provides support to parents, says that due to the situation, many emotional therapists have stopped working, while the children's anxiety level increases. "The state needs to mobilize and expand the scope and care for families and children as well. Every child who is evacuated from the envelope has experienced trauma and is in a difficult situation, even more so a child who has already experienced leaving," she says.
"The level of anxiety is rising." Michal Dvir,
Mira Werker, director of foster family recruitment and resource development at Summit Institute, which is responsible for recruiting and accompanying foster families in southern Israel and Jerusalem, says that following the war, the institute established an emergency center for child care.
"The children who were born into trauma, experienced difficult things in their biological parents' home and were placed in foster care, are now experiencing double trauma and are in a very complex mental state."
Foster children, illustration, the subjects have no connection to the article, photo: Efrat Eshel
The Summit Institute has bolstered the psychological envelope around foster families in the South and sent teams to the South and the hotels where the families are staying.
Ogen for Foster Families and Summit Institute have launched a fundraising campaign, to which donations can be made through the nonprofits' websites.
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