The municipality was selected to be part of a pilot to appoint a comprehensive mental health officer who will be accessible to the community and will ensure that the needs of the residents are mapped. This is in addition to the extensive activity that the municipality carries out for people with mental health problems and their families.
On Monday, January 12, Head of the Social Services Division, Marina Sadeh, and the director of the Health Department, Michal Elimelech, came to the Knesset for a meeting to launch the pilot of comprehensive mental health officers in local authorities, led by the chairman of the Labor and Welfare Committee, MK Michal Waldiger, in cooperation with the Healthy Cities Network and the Ministry of Finance.
This is a pilot in which the Modi'in Maccabim Re'ut municipality is participating, along with five additional local authorities, who will appoint a new professional comprehensive mental health officer, whose goal is to be accessible to the community and holistic for the resident. The duties of the coordinator will include, among other things, ensuring the mapping of needs and responses in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health, health funds, social security funds, non-profit organizations, and more.
In the last three years, and more so since the Iron Swords War, the Municipality of Modi'in Maccabim Re'ut has been engaged in the field of mental health, which has occupied a central place in the work of the Health Department in the Social Services Division of the municipality. The needs are many, and the work is done in full cooperation with all parties involved in the field, including non-profit organizations, health funds, the various municipal divisions, and more. The Health Department has allocated budgets for the development of services and responses for mental health sufferers and their families.
The journey began in May 2023 when the Health Department launched a roundtable conference in collaboration with the Mental Health Forum and the Nefashot Association, to which the public was also invited - to propose ideas and collaborations on the subject of mental health. From this initiative, the "Kol Nafshi" association was later established by the city's residents. The association consists of participants, family members, volunteers, and more, and its goal is to raise awareness of the power of the community in creating change, to mobilize the community to lend a hand and heart, to involvement, to action, to mutual aid, and to break existing stigmas. In addition, the association works together with the municipality to develop and create supportive and adapted community programs and frameworks in the city.
The city also has a Mental Health Forum that brings together under one roof all the services, associations, and companies that provide services as part of the Ministry of Health's rehabilitation basket.
Last October, the city held a "Mental Health" conference that dealt with the community as a healing force. Over 300 people attended the conference, who took part in lectures and were exposed to the stands of the city's various service operators.
In recent years, the city has undoubtedly become one that provides a wide variety of services for people with mental illness and their families, and that involves people with mental illness in thinking, planning, and implementing programs. Examples of activities the city offers are a support group for parents of those struggling with mental illness, individual therapy, social groups for those struggling with mental illness, monthly lectures in the field of mental health open to the general public, and more. In addition, the municipality published a guide to services for people struggling with emotional or mental difficulties, and it also offered various workshops in collaboration with "Kol Nafshi" association, such as photography, cooking, storytelling, art and the mind, and more.
A unique and pioneering project that was launched recently is "Listening Benches" which has been very successful. These are benches in various locations in the city, where any resident can sit and meet with a volunteer who has been trained to listen without judgment, to any issue that is weighing on their hearts.
Recently, a healthy nutrition workshop was held for those struggling with mental illness, delivered by Leket Israel. The workshop provided tools and instructions for a healthy diet tailored to the needs of those struggling with mental illness, side effects of drug treatment and more.
The "Kol Nafshi" association was honored to receive a certificate of appreciation in the Knesset from the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Lobby, for their special contribution to promoting mental health and operating a volunteer network that serves diverse populations.
