NATAL has been appointed by the Israel Defense Force to be the sole provider of the Causality and Notification Officers Training Course, which prepares officers to help soldiers and their families cope with the trauma of war.

Featuring: Princess Kuntz and the Mirror of Miracles

April 2012

 
Studies show that younger children respond positively to visual enactments of psychological concepts and challenges. Therefore in addition to traditional training methods NATAL developed a therapeutic intervention puppet theater show for preschools, primary schools and additional educational institutions to teach children how to cope in emergency situations and empower their pre-existing coping resources.
 
The puppets are a powerful teaching aid for young children at risk of trauma. The show is accompanied by a NATAL therapeutic professional to explore the issues which arise and to guide the teachers in the situation.
 
The resourceful Princess Kuntz overcomes a mysterious spell and brings back the smile of the sun. The story demonstrates the emotional voyage of a child facing fear, anger, and sadness, who prevails by finding inner strength and resiliency.

Reflection By Ari Stoner, Indiana

May 2012

 
It’s strange. I remember writing my first post on this blog about unpacking my bags, excited for my new life in Tel-Aviv. Here I am, months later, writing a post about packing up.
 
This year has been hands down, the most powerful time of my entire life. Everything I knew as normal has been turned upside down. I see the world in a different way, having met friends who span the entire globe who feel like family at this point. While being here in Israel, I got to volunteer for an organization who I believe to be one of the most important in this country. When signing up for my volunteering, I wanted to work somewhere that provided a neccesary service to Israel–something that truly made a difference. While I wasn’t the man behind the screen, taking care of patients, I truly feel like I got to contribute to the place, providing an understanding of what it does and how important it is to Israel.
 
Natal is an organization that was originally founded to help soldiers deal with post-traumatic stress after difficult tours of duty. Eventually, however, it found that people from all across Israel suffer from post-trauma–that it is truly a national disease. Thousands have been effected by terrorism here and by war. Everyone is connected somehow to a tragic accident–whether a family member or a friend was taken, whether it was witnessing a suicide bombing, whether it is living under the shadow of daily rocket fire, or whether it was living in an army base in constant fear of death.
 
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1,000,000 Israelis in Shelters

March 12, 2012

Since Friday, Palestinian militant groups have fired over 150 rockets and mortar shells to major cities, towns and communities in Israel’s southern district.
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In the News

March 8, 2012

The Ohio Jewish Chronicle: NATAL TRAUMA CENTER – Giving people back their lives
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March 12, 2012:

Since Friday, Palestinian militant groups have fired over 150 rockets and mortar shells to major cities, towns and communities in Israel’s southern district. These attacks force 1,000,000 civilians to stay at or near a shelter at all times and the closure of all schools in the area, leaving 200,000 children at home.

Casualties mount and damage is considerable. Hundreds of distressed individuals and families call NATAL’s Hotline for psychological and emotional assistance. NATAL’s Mobile Unit is working in the impacted towns and communities, providing crisis intervention in close collaboration with the local municipalities and social services.

It is in the days after the traumatic experience that we can make a difference for many traumatized individuals. Immediate treatment and crisis intervention can prevent one’s trauma from developing into PTSD.

NATAL’s activities in the past four days include:

• NATAL’s Hotline is operating 24 hours a day. All Hotline volunteers and instructors are available as well as Clinical Unit personnel staff to meet the Hotline demand. The Hotline has received hundreds of calls, most coming from Ashdod, Beersheva and Ashkelon, three cities with a combined population of over 500,000. Callers include adults and children in similar proportions and the Hotline is staffed accordingly to provide optimal response.
• The Mobile Unit is working in the most impacted areas in close coordination with the municipalities, providing immediate psychological support to distressed families. The Unit has also activated its emergency volunteers and is centrally coordinating their effort.

Please help us help those in need.

***NATAL’s chairperson and co-founder, Judith Yovel Recanati, covers all overhead expenses, your entire donation goes directly to treat trauma victims****

NATAL continues to provide immediate and long-term support to those suffering from trauma as a result of terror and war.