M’s Journey to Recovery through “Inbalim” program

Written by the Inbalim Program Coordinator

All beginnings are difficult

M joined Paamonim’s Inbalim program in August 2016, though she was very pessimistic about the process and hesitant to cooperate in the beginning. We began by setting goals and objectives for M’s economic recovery, and after a number of personal conversations I realized that she is a single mother supporting 4 children without any help.

Securing Rental Assistance

One of M’s main concerns was paying rent for her apartment. I realized that she wasn’t receiving any help from the government, even though she was entitled and qualified. When I asked M about it, she told me that she had applied many times throughout the past 11 years, but wasn’t granted the funding due to a small debt of 1700 ILS that she was obliged.

I scheduled an appointment for M to apply for rental assistance. During our conversation with the clerk, M kept saying, “I can’t believe I’m here submitting an application.” M had given up because her past requests had always been rejected.

After our conversation with the Director of the company, M was instructed to gather and submit all of the required documents, and I contacted her social worker from the Israeli Ministry of Welfare, in order to write a social report as a supplement to strengthen her application for rental assistance. In November, we received another rejection letter because of the 1700 ILS debt that M owed.

I went back arguing that the small amount of debt shouldn’t affect M’s ability to receive assistance, especially because it could have surely been paid off by now if the Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing had accepted her initial request before 10 years ago. Had they accepted, M would already be receiving more than 120,000 NIS.

The next morning I received a phone call that the Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing accepted M’s request. The debt was erased and a retroactive payment for rent for the previous 4 months was also granted to M.

I cannot describe to you the joy this conversation brought to me, and more importantly to M. Already after this phone call, I saw M begin to transform. In the beginning of the process, M refused to receive family counseling or employment support- the other components of the program. After sharing the good news with her, M began to ask me how soon she would be able to start the counseling!

Securing Public Housing and Employment Counseling

Read our volunteers stories.

Paamonim is an organization based on volunteers. We believe that the exercise of mutual responsibility has a great deal to contribute towards strengthening society and enabling it stand up to current and future challenges.

More than 2,800 volunteers from all parts of Israel serve as family economic coaches, professional advisors, coordinators, lecturers and support personnel. All of them work with love, integrity, responsibility and vigor in order to improve the economic condition of families in Israel and guide them onto the path of responsibility and economic independence.