Create Space - A Home for Life in Ma'ale Gilboa

Home for Life is a unique project in which adults with disabilities live within a religious kibbutz community where all their needs are provided for - housing, employment, social interactions, and ongoing personal support. For several years Yeshivat Ma'ale Gilboa, located in the kibbutz, has been running a highly successful program for adult students on the autistic spectrum as part of its regular yeshiva program. Over the years it became clear that a place was needed to serve as a home for the students upon their graduation and for other adults with similar challenges, and so the kibbutz began to create the Home for Life project. The kibbutz is confident that this program will not only benefit the adult participants of the program by providing them with a new home, but will enrich the lives of the entire kibbutz community. We are interested in setting up a home for 12 residents - married couples and singles - who will be offered support groups, classes, activities, job opportunities, and "adopted" host families from the community. Not far from the kibbutz are two homes with similar models. We plan to collaborate with them in order to establish joint social interactions, and to stimulate suitable areas of employment for the residents. The project will provide an ongoing community environment for adults with special needs and for their families, enabling them to grow and develop in a protected, supportive atmosphere, allowing them to integrate into society as equals.