Our projects provide comprehensive solutions and practical tools for at-risk young adults to help them make a meaningful change in their lives

Join us and be a part of our important and groundbreaking work

תמונת הירו של פרויקטים

The Open Space Drop-in Center

Located in Nahalat Shiv’a in central Jerusalem | Open 365 days a year | Operating hours 10:00-22:00 | Ages 14-25

As the name suggests, the open space drop-in center is a homey space that welcomes young people unconditionally and serves as a safe and nonjudgmental alternative to life on the streets.  The drop-in center’s activities are focused on providing immediate, accessible, flexible, and tailored solutions for teenagers and young adults in a range of vulnerable situations: detachment from social frameworks, vagrancy, delinquency, drug use, lack of family support, homelessness, emotional distress, and more.
Hut HaMeshulash believes in working with young people’s existing strengths and encouraging them to realize their potential.
Participation in the drop-in center is completely voluntary and participants either turn to the center themselves, are located by staff, or referred by education and welfare bodies.
The drop-in center provides a warm and welcoming space that offers a wide range of solutions to hundreds of young people a year:
Humanitarian needs provision: a safe alternative to the streets, three meals a day, a space to rest, showers, clothing, and laundry services.
Therapeutic/rehabilitative services: social work, intervention in crisis situations, legal counseling, and more.
Personal development opportunities: empowerment and enrichment activities. such as:

The art program offers therapy using processes of creativity and self-expression. Our staff teach a variety of classes: drawing, art history, art workshops, painting, and more.  The program includes collaboration with scholarship students from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.

The theater program operates in partnership with the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio in Jerusalem. The program includes weekly acting classes for around 15 young people, delivered by professional teachers from Nissan Nativ.

 

Music Room

The drop-in center’s music program offers music therapy to who are interested in music. Music room staff, together with students from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, offer a range of private lessons: voice, guitar, piano, drums, recording, and music software.

Participants try out whatever lessons they want. The music room is a refuge from life on the streets for hundreds of young people, a place to share and express feelings, and a space for creativity and self-expression. Open mic events are held throughout the year, and everyone is welcome to participate by singing or otherwise expressing themselves. As part of the program, a group of young people with outstanding musical talent got together and started Hut HaMeshulash’s band. The band has performed dozens of times to large audiences all over Israel and is currently working on its first album, created by the band members themselves.

Check out the band’s YouTube channel here.

תמונה של המרחב הפתוח
תמונה חדר המוסיקה

Vocational Training Program

Established in 2014 | Ages 17-25 | 12 participants per workshop | 2-3 workshops per year

This program was established in collaboration with the National Insurance Institute of Israel as part of the “Secure Futures” program and now operates independently. The program is rooted in the belief that achieving personal and professional success is a significant milestone in everyone’s life – especially for at-risk young people, who often lack people in their lives who believe in them and have never felt that success to be within their reach.

The program is intended for teenagers and young adults from all over Israel and aims to prepare them for integration into the jobs market, providing a range of tools for empowerment, enrichment, and self-confidence development. The program is based on group sessions, where participants acquire tools and skills to assist them in the jobs market. These include life skills such as teamwork, communication, self-confidence, responsibility, and perseverance; specific knowledge about the jobs market; practical job search skills; resume writing; and preparing for job interviews. Depending on the workshop’s demographic, the group sessions might be supplemented by individual sessions with a social worker to develop a personal program, work on weaknesses, reinforce strengths, and create a tailored Vocational horizon for each participant. Depending on their needs and capabilities, some participants begin a vocational training program of their choice after completing the program, sponsored by Hut HaMeshulash. Others enter the jobs market.

תמונה של פרוייקטים

Young Men’s Home

Established in 2006 | Ages 18-25 | 12 young men | Program duration 12-24 months | Located in the Ramat Sharett neighborhood of Jerusalem

The young men’s home is the first of its kind in Israel and intended for young men in various vulnerable situations, especially those involved in criminal activities. The program offers a long-term therapeutic/rehabilitative framework with an individually tailored therapeutic program for each participant. Young men are referred to the program by welfare services from around Israel. The hostel offers them long term housing and a rehabilitative framework in a welcoming, homely atmosphere. It gives young men stability, safety, and support, allowing them to make fundamental changes in their lives.

Young men at the hostel are provided with individual and group therapy, guidance in finding vocational and support in completing their education, from an understanding that these tools will help them integrate into society as independent adults.

תמונת רכיבה על סוסים

Young Women’s Home and the Unit for Young Pregnant Women

Established in 2009 | Ages 18-25 | 15 young women | Program length 12-24 months | Located in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem

The young women’s home offers 15 vulnerable young women a long-term therapeutic/rehabilitative framework with an individually tailored therapeutic program for each participant.
Young women are referred to the program by welfare services from across Israel.
The hostel provides them with accommodation and takes care of all their basic needs.
The therapeutic program at the hostel includes work on several planes: learning about topics such as health, healthy sexuality, and personal hygiene; help finding employment or completing education; basic financial management tools (including creating a savings plan); and social work that includes personal guidance, individual and group therapy, and enrichment and leisure activities.

The unit for young pregnant woman operates within the young women’s home, and is the only program of its kind in Israel. It enables pregnant young women to live at the hostel for the duration of their pregnancy, while receiving all the support and assistance they need: accompaniment to doctor’s appointments, meetings with various professionals, preparation for parenting, and support during and after the birth.

תמונה בית הבנות והיחידה לצעירות בהריון

Transitional Accommodation

Established in 2017 | Ages 18-25 | 10 young people | Program length 12-24 months

The Transitional Accommodation are intended for graduates of the young men’s and women’s homes and other frameworks who still require guidance and support as they work toward building independent lives. The Transitional Home provide these graduates with a domestic framework, continued support and rehabilitation, and an opportunity to continue the process of changing their lives.

The young people run the house independently and contribute partially to household costs. They also receive mentoring from a counselor who acts as a coach and weekly therapeutic sessions with a social worker.

Living at the Transitional Home gives graduates a safe shelter and facilitates social work that allows them to gradually make the transition to independence while living in an apartment with roommates.

תמונה של דירות המעבר

The emergency shelter for young men

Established in 2022 | Ages 18-25 | 14 young men | one nighet- 6 months | Located in the center of Jerusalem

The emergency shelter for young men provides a roof for vulnerable and at-risk young men aged 18-25 who have found themselves homeless due to challenging life circumstances. The shelter’s main goal is to give these young people renewed control over their lives, while meeting each individual’s needs. The young men at the shelter can choose to stay for a few nights, in order to be safe in the immediate term, to take part in a six-month rehabilitation program, or something in between. Hut HaMeshuash makes every effort to make its services as comprehensive, accessible, available and welcoming as possible. The shelter aims to meet the young men’s immediate physical needs—hot meals, showers and a safe place to sleep—and emotional needs—such as support from social workers and professionals, help exercising rights, and referrals to other services in the community.
The team at the shelter works with the young men on building self-confidence and energy, breaking cycles of failure and putting cycles of success in their place. By doing so, Hut believes that the young men will be able to channel their energies towards reintegration into normative society, each at his own pace and according to his own needs.

The emergency shelter for young women from the ultra-Orthodox community

Established in 2023 | Ages 18-25 | 12 young women | one nighet- 6 months | Located in the center of Jerusalem

The emergency shelter for young women from the ultra-Orthodox community is the first and only one of its kind in Israel. It provides a space for women aged 18-25 from around the country who have found themselves at risk, homeless, and without a family safety net as a result of complicated life circumstances. The emergency shelter provides an immediate and accessible alternative to rough sleeping, and its attendant risks of mental and physical harm. Once at the shelter, staff work with the at-risk young Ultra-Orthodox women to help restore their agency and support them in making choices about their desired direction in life.
The operating model of the shelter is based on three core components:
Availability – the emergency accommodation is available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Timeliness – the emergency accommodation will serve as an immediate roof over the heads of those who need it for a period of up to six months, subject to the individual’s requirements and their specific therapy plan.
Opportunity – the emergency accommodation will serve as a safe and protected space from which to start a process of physical and psychological recovery, giving the young women an opportunity to move from a mode of survival to one of considered decision-making.

Impact​

Hut HaMeshulash in numbers – from its establishment until today​

חוט לבן מפריד

The Open Space Drop-in Center

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teenagers and young adults

Young Men’s Home

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young men

Young Women’s Home

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young women

Unit for Young Pregnant Woman

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babies born

Transitional Accommodation

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young people

Vocational training program

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completed the program
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