Vocational rehabilitation for people with mental disabilities
SHAVIM NGO for Vocational Rehabilitation
A few words about the Shavim Association
The Shavim Association was established in 1985 by former members of the Ministry of Health with the aim of providing vocational rehabilitation services to people dealing with mental disabilities.
Today, the association operates nationwide and operates:
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7 protected factories
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Employment support system in the free market
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4 Innovative Career Guidance Centers – Equal Plus
The activity is implemented by a broad team that includes occupational therapists, social workers, psychotherapists, employment coordinators, and rehabilitation counselors – working together to enable each person to realize their potential.
Your success is our success.
The Shavim Association was established with the aim of providing a professional response in the field of vocational rehabilitation for people dealing with mental disabilities.
The association works to train, guide, and direct people with mental health issues and special needs, with the goal of providing them with knowledge, professional tools, and opportunities to realize their employment potential - and integrate into the world of work, both in the free market and in adapted frameworks.
For more than 40 years, we have been operating a professional system for developing skills and work habits, strengthening abilities and cultivating capabilities - with the goal of enabling every person to have respectful and meaningful work.
For us, vocational rehabilitation is much more than just making a living.
This is a process that aims to strengthen self-confidence, develop a sense of competence, build stable social relationships, and lead to personal and financial independence.
Numerical data
Ratio of
1:10
Every person who contacts us for vocational rehabilitation is treated throughout the occupational continuum by more than 10 counselors, social workers, coordinators, staff members, and developers of occupational projects.
Success rate approx
70%
Placement on the free market
Above
800
Service recipients at the association
76%
Of the service recipients integrated into the free market, working even during the War of the Roaring Hari and persisting over time.
Our advantages
Among the many benefits of the Shvim Association, there is one particularly important one:
We really care.
The value of mutual guarantee underlies the establishment of the association and guides us in all our activities.
Our goal is to enable every person dealing with a mental disability to:
To integrate into the world of work, realize one's abilities, and build an independent and meaningful life
We work to achieve this goal through:
Placing the person at the center of the process
Customizing the rehabilitation pathway
Creative thinking for finding employment solutions
Full commitment to the success of each participant
Our rehabilitation programs
The Shavim Association offers a variety of vocational rehabilitation programs tailored to the needs and abilities of each person:
Rehabilitation centers for training and occupational integration
The rehabilitation centers of the Shvim Association operate from a holistic perspective:
Vocational rehabilitation is not just learning a profession – but a broad process that combines professional guidance, development of work skills, and tools for independent living.
The rehabilitation process includes professional training and strengthening of skills in the following areas:
- Personal conduct
- Social connections
- Financial management
- Family and community life
All with the personal and close support of a dedicated professional team, working in full cooperation with the participants throughout the process.
"Shavim Plus" Centers
At Shavim Plus centers, the decision-making process is done in full collaboration with the participant .
The choice of training and employment path is tailored to personal needs, abilities, and aspirations.
Unlike other programs, in which several professionals accompany you at different stages of the process, here each participant receives personal and close guidance from one professional guide throughout all stages of training and rehabilitation.
The support is provided by experienced professionals with extensive knowledge and deep human sensitivity - who are the human capital of the Shvim Association.
The goal is to integrate the person into work in the free market, with intensive support, after receiving a toolbox for coping, through a series of workshops as part of the program.
Occupational guidance in the free market
The Equals Association's open-market employment program is designed to help people dealing with mental disabilities integrate and succeed in the labor market. As part of the program, we accompany each participant through a personal process that includes finding a suitable job, preparing for the world of work, and providing professional and intensive support throughout the process. The Equals team of experts works in collaboration with the participant and the employer to create a supportive and customized work environment that enables employment stability, strengthening the sense of competence, and progress toward personal and financial independence.
What is vocational rehabilitation for mentally ill people?
Sometimes a person experiences a crisis, trauma, or mental difficulty that impairs their ability to function daily and their ability to integrate into the world of work.
Vocational rehabilitation is a process that aims to help a person return to the workforce, acquire a profession, and move toward an independent and meaningful life.
At the Shvav Association, we accompany each person through a personal process that includes:
✔ Diagnosis and identification of occupational abilities and aspirations
✔ Building a personalized vocational rehabilitation plan
✔ Professional training and acquisition of work skills
✔ Completion of education and development of occupational projects
✔ Finding employers and placing them in suitable jobs
The goal is to lead to successful integration into the workforce – and at an advanced stage, also into the open labor market.
Success stories
I was a very active person, I worked in a garage doing the most complex jobs for about 24 years.
One day, in addition to the many physical challenges I face such as chronic arthritis and herniated discs for which I am being treated in a pain clinic, I collapsed mentally. I didn't want to live anymore, I had more and more suicide attempts.......
Success stories
A. was hospitalized at the age of 16, diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia. He spent about 20 years in hospitals. He began working in the sheltered factory about 4 years ago. Before that, he had never worked. As he progressed in his work at the factory, he later also integrated into housing. During his time at the factory, he acquired soft work skills and created social connections.......