In Kibbutz HaSollem, a regional employment center will be established and care spaces for special graduates and those with disabilities. The ceremony of laying the cornerstone was attended by the Director General of the Ministry of the Interior Ronan Peretz, heads of authorities and other dignitaries.
Eshkol HaGalil and the Emekkim, in cooperation with the Jezreel Valley Regional Council, and ADMN (the Eshkol’s franchisee for operating a series of rehabilitation and employment centers for adults with disabilities), have woven together the unique project that will provide a response to daily care for adult residents with disabilities throughout the Eshkol.
Residents of the councils benefit from employment and rehabilitation services at various centers in and around them, but the need to establish a response to additional daily care is evident throughout the region, both because the existing centers are fully occupied and because of the high travel expenses to receive care far from the area.
The director general of the Ministry of the Interior Ronan Peretz, whose support for the development and growth of the regional clusters is one of the milestones of the Ministry of the Interior, praised the project and the cooperation of the authorities in the cluster and noted in his words at the ceremony that “the event combines two events that I strongly believe in: clusters and assistance to people and women with disabilities”.
In this complex project, forces, resources and budgets were united in the entirety of Eshkol HaGalil and the Emekim and in partnership with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Welfare, Keren Shalem, the National Insurance Funds, MA Emek Jezreel and Kibbutz Hasollem.
The head of the Jezreel Valley Regional Council and the chairman of the cluster Eyal Betzer emphasized the importance of this center and the importance of partnership and social responsibility towards the population. A society is tested on its weakest links and if we do not strengthen them, this society will not last,” said Betzer, “this place is the center of the cluster , the center of the valley and the center of the settlement”.
For the purpose of establishing a regional ‘spaces’ project in Kibbutz HaSollem – a building was located for renovation, located in the center of the kibbutz, near the public playground and the kibbutz grocery store, suitable for the establishment of a day care center.
The center will provide a response to about 20 adult service recipients with disabilities (disability, rehabilitation, autism), who live in the community throughout the Jezreel Valley Regional Council and in the other Eshkol municipalities. In cooperation with the agricultural association ‘Kibbutz Hasollem’, a number of employment centers have been located where the participants can To integrate, as part of their integration into the kibbutz community and as part of their training for the world of employment: the kibbutz grocery store, the kindergarten classes, the 79 coffee cart at the intersection of Kibbutz HaSollem, community gardening, activity by the stream and honey production.
In addition, in light of the fruitful dialogue with the partners (Btla and Keren Shalem), this year (2024) these calling voices were opened to all the clusters in Israel in a significant breakthrough for the authorities and the cluster’s role as added value in the field of disabilities.