SOCIAL CLUBS FOR THE HANDICAPPED

Youth Club for the Physically Handicapped

Rationale:
Handicapped youth aged 13-18 from the Sharon area need social activities with their peers as much as all youth.
This club offers them a social framework, reducing their isolation and increasing their social skills.

Social Center for Young Disabled Adults

Rationale:
Disabled adults in the northern Sharon area have been isolated from their peers and community as no facility catered to their social needs. Mobility, self-esteem and socio-economic limitations kept many at home.
The opening of a social club has broken the cycle of isolation.

Operation:
The participants themselves design the program. ESRA pays for transportation costs, and the salary of the youth leader. ESRA volunteers help with the organisation and provide support.

The Program:
Currently 17 handicapped teenagers from the Sharon area, together with 10 non-handicapped students from a local high school, meet together weekly to plan and participate in joint social activities: parties; trips; meetings with interesting people; cultural performances.

Location:
Beit Weil, Kfar Shmaryahu.

Operation:
The 'Kadima' club and its programming are operated by volunteer disabled adults. ESRA provides funds for transportation, a youth leader who guides the activities, and volunteers who help with the programs.

The Program:
Meeting weekly, 35 members participate in a program which includes discussions, social activities, dancing in wheelchairs, performances and trips.

Location:
Ran for 2 years in Kadima. Since 2002 in a location near Netanya.

Partners:
ESRA and the Ministry of Welfare.