War Time Support Initiative for People with Disabilities
Adapted and translated by Shivat Zion, see the original article in NoCamels here.
For the more than 1.5 million people in Israel living with disabilities, the current war situation has been very difficult, filled with isolation and struggles to find the practical and emotional help they need.
In order to aid this community, various organizations have created online services to help them get that assistance.
One of the larger projects, the ESNA Initiative (Emergency Special Needs Assistance) acts as a centralized portal for disabled individuals who have a specific need or request, but feel unable to search for it themselves. (the page is only in Hebrew but you can translate it in your browser)
The platform brings together specialist organizations, helplines, professionals and volunteers in one place, in order to ease the process of finding the best response to a disabled person’s specific need from a potentially overwhelming maze of resources.
Once the person has completed a simple online form, the volunteers staffing the ESNA platform reach out to help them make contact with the relevant body or professionals.
The volunteers make the match, contact an organization, and ask them if they can help this specific person, make that connection, and ensure that the problem has been solved.
Direct link to the ESNA help request form here.
For technical support or difficulties, people can email them directly at assistance@hackautism.org
Here is a WhatsApp link for emergencies only.
ESNA’s partners include ALUT, The National Israeli Society for Children and Adults with Autism, which provides a range of services for people with autism of all ages nationwide; Access Israel, whose main mission is to promote accessibility and inclusion among all sectors of the population; Shavvim (Hebrew for equals), an online media outlet for people with disabilities, which also aids individuals who need help with essential requests such as finding psychological assistance, refilling prescriptions and buying groceries; and other organizations.
Always remember, you are not alone! Feel free to reach out to Shivat Zion’s help desks at: https://shivat-zion.com/contact-us/