We introduced ADI in previous editions of Christian Comment. It is good to have positive stories emerging from Israel when so much of the World’s media focuses on negative stereotypes. This third article focuses on some more areas of ADI’s very specialized and professional approach to caring for the seriously disabled.
An Israeli charity serving the disabled and disadvantaged, including Israeli Arabs and local Christians, ADI celebrates Ability at every level, promotes Diversity and insists on Inclusion. The charity is Israel’s most comprehensive provider of residential care for individuals with severe disabilities and the leader of Israel’s national rehabilitation movement.
ADI provides residents and special education students with the individualized growth plans and specialized services they need to grow and thrive. Rehabilitation patients receive inpatient and outpatient treatments / therapies to heal and return to their lives, and to the community at large, with tangible opportunities for encountering disability, raising awareness and promoting acceptance.
REHABILITATION WARDS
The Rehabilitation Medical Center at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran has 72 hospital beds divided between two wards – Orthopedic Rehabilitation and Neurological Rehabilitation. A third ward will be added in the near future, bringing the Medical Center’s total capacity to 108 hospital beds – a true medical revolution for the Negev. Additionally, the Center operates an Outpatient Services department servicing residents from cities and towns throughout the Negev in need of rehabilitative therapies. Included in the Center’s services, Israel’s southern population may find a diverse range of clinics that provide innovative therapeutic treatments, including physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, occupational therapy, communication therapy, an accessible sports center and more.
CREATIVE ARTS WORKSHOPS
ADI’s Creative Arts Workshops offer challenging and meaningful vocational activities employing creative solutions in accordance with participants’ varying levels of ability and need. Workshops include digital printing on mugs, paper mache products, ceramic plates and decorative items, Havdalah sets, silk table runners and more, all of which are offered for sale through the ADI Ability Boutique.
PROJECT GREEN CARE
In cooperation with the Eleven Floars Foundation of Holland, ADI is changing the face of inclusive employment in Israel by introducing integrative agriculture, providing people with special needs opportunities for equal rights and access to meaningful occupational opportunities. Israel’s first inclusive farm at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran, a game-changer for farmers and people with disabilities, will be expanded to additional farms throughout the country.
SAFARI PETTING ZOO
Animals roam free throughout the Safari Petting Zoo, enabling close contact with visitors. Specially trained staff understands how to adapt interaction with the animals to meet the needs of ADI residents and outpatients and to find appropriate methods to reach defined therapeutic goals. Animals are also brought to the homes of residents unable to go to the Safari.
EQUINE (HORSE) THERAPY
Creating and maintaining a relationship with horses includes working within the animal’s natural habitat while feeding, caring for and playing with the horse. In this unique program, interaction between horse and caregiver creates foundations of empathy, teaching the child to see others’ needs, understand social clues, express emotion and foster cooperation.
CANINE (DOG) THERAPY
Modern research shows that people with intellectual disabilities feel more comfortable and are more likely to socialize with a dog than with humans. By establishing a relationship with “man’s best friend,” ADI residents enjoy the emotional benefits of companionship, unconditional acceptance and love that help them progress and learn to share emotions with other individuals.
TACTILE LIBRARY
ADI’s innovative Tactile Library Program pairs storybooks with lifelike puppets, communication boards and other sensory-stimulating paraphernalia to transform stories into exciting, multisensory experiences enabling children of all abilities to enter, enjoy and benefit from the magical world of books. The innovative Snoezelen multi-sensory room stimulates residents’ senses in a padded, all-white room by incorporating delicate fiber optics, a colorful slide screen, soft music and more for an optimal sensory stimulation experience and an inviting and relaxing environment.
ADI NEGEV-NAHALAT ERAN REHABILITATION VILLAGE
Founded 2005, the 40-acre ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran Rehabilitation Village was named to honor the memory of Eran Almog, the late son and guiding light of founders Didi and Major General (Res.) Doron Almog. Fuelled by his love for Eran, who was born with severe autism and cognitive disabilities, Doron Almog led the creation of the one-of-a-kind rehabilitation village in Israel’s south, a community where people from diverse backgrounds and all levels of ability can live, heal and grow together.
As Chairman of ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran, Doron Almog continues to lead and guide the village’s progress and advancement as a model of true inclusion and an example of what’s possible when we lead with our hearts. A celebrated IDF hero and Israel Prize Laureate, Doron stands as a symbol of disability care and inclusion who advances a crucial social message: “The strength of the human chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”
In addition to caring for and empowering more than 300 residents and special education students with severe disabilities, the expansive and progressive village pioneers cutting-edge therapeutic and recovery services for anyone touched by disability, cultivates empathy and acceptance through education, and provides individuals with disabilities with a framework for personal advancement, social integration and gainful employment.
Day after day, the village’s innovative kindergarten integrates children born with disabilities and their non-disabled peers to promote empathy and acceptance. Residents with severe disabilities, local students, politicians, and high-tech entrepreneurs swim and receive therapy together in the same hydrotherapy pool, and tens of adults with disabilities have found real and meaningful employment as the village’s gardening staff. Unlike anything that came before it, ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran is an innovative social center and the exemplar for a truly inclusive community.
The village features fully accessible residential villas for people with multiple disabilities and complex medical conditions, an intensive care hospital wing, special education school, green care farm, hydrotherapy and sports therapy complexes, therapeutic horse stable and petting zoo, and The Harvey and Gloria Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center – the first-ever rehabilitation hospital in Israel’s south.
The Harvey and Gloria Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center is improving the care of Israel’s older adults and highly dependent patients by implementing revolutionary rehabilitation techniques, employing international experts in various fields to train its medical residents, and offering services not available anywhere else in Israel, including an Oncological Rehabilitation Clinic to help rehabilitation patients successfully reintegrate into their communities. The Center is also creating more housing and jobs in the Negev, establishing a model of community-based inclusive health services, and disseminating rehabilitative best practices via Israel’s first translational research lab.
Christian Comment – we give thanks to God for what is an exemplar charity movement, ranked amongst the best in the world. More information: https://adi-il.org/about-us/
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