Ohel Sara
Ohel Saraצילום: Ohel Sara

In 2002, Ohel Sarah recognized a critical need for young male adults with special needs in Israel. At that time, they had two employment centers- one for women and one for men- with mild to moderate special needs, where the young adults were trained to join the mainstream workforce or were given meaningful employment at their centers. However, the tireless staff at Ohel Sarah realized that adult men aged 21+ with more severe disabilities that barred them from working also needed meaningful daily activities, crucial therapies, and social stimulation so they could find happiness and fulfillment in their limited worlds.

So, to address this need, they opened the first-of-its-kind daycare center in Israel - Immunit. Today, over 40 male adults ages 21+ attend this program every day from 8.00 AM to 6.00 PM. The adults have fallen into a predictable routine where they are picked up by Ohel Sarah’s buses, brought to the daycare center, and then transported home at the end of the day. During the hours that the young adults are at the center, they socialize- in their unique way- with their friends, interact with the staff, engage in different therapies, and enjoy countless activities. For these men, the Immunit Center is their whole world.

The origins of Ohel Sarah go back to 1981 when Rabbi Shmuel and Rivka Gunzburg opened the doors of their private home wide to accommodate children and adults with special needs. At a time when special needs children were an embarrassment to the family- they were either hidden behind closed doors or sent away- this incredible couple made it their mission to help every special-needs person who came their way feel like they belong.

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They advocated for these children and adults, challenging the belief that they could never have a meaningful life and should, therefore, be left to their own devices. And their efforts paid off. As a society, we have come a long way in accepting children and adults with special needs. Today, Ohel Sarah operates an enormous system where anyone with special needs in and around Bnei Brak, from the age of 6 until the end of their lives, can find a place, a community, and a home.

They have around 800 children they care for every day, between their five schools, five employment and day centers, and 40 group homes. Most remarkable is Ohel Sarah’s group home program, which houses children, teenagers, or adults who have no other home in regular apartment buildings in the community. These children, instead of being institutionalized, are thriving in a group home with a loving housemother, counselors, therapists, and other staff who are there for them 24/7, allowing them to have all their needs met in the most loving way. The staff are united in their goal of bringing meaning, happiness, and joy in the lives of every girl, boy, teenager, and adult with special needs.

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The upheaval that was wrought upon Israel since the barbaric attack on October 7th has affected every person differently. But for the special-needs population, the lack of structure, the unpredictability, and the change of environment and schedule is devastating. Since we do not have an adequate bomb shelter in the Immunit Day Center, some men stay home with their elderly parents, and others are shuffled around the country to our group homes that have availability.

Ohel Sarah needs urgent funds for a bomb shelter so they can reopen the Immunit center for these special adults, allowing them to resume their regular lives once again, continue to receive the therapies they so badly need, and be engaged in productive activities with their caring, devoted, loving carers.

Please consider donating to our ongoing fundraising campaign to help the special-needs adults and their families who are overwhelmed by the terrible effects of this war.

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