SHEKEL-Community Services for People with Special Needs is Israel's leading organization for integrating people with special needs in the community. In order to advance this goal, SHEKEL has created a wide array of programs and support systems offering a plethora of services and equal opportunity for people with special needs.
SHEKEL was founded in 1979 by Israel's Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Joint Israel, and the Jerusalem Municipality. Today, 550 employees and 700 volunteers assist 8,000 people with special needs from every sector of Israeli society: Jews, Arabs, Christians, religious and secular.
SHEKEL's vision is to develop community services for every person with a disability in order to enable independent functioning at home, work, and during leisure and social activities. Services are provided at the highest professional level while taking into account the individual's needs and interests, and allowing for a life of respect, self-fulfillment, inclusion and participation in the general community as people with equal rights.
SHEKEL provides services to people from different sectors with various needs and disabilities. Its diversified structure enables individualization for each population group, including the following:
- learning disabilities
- intellectual disabilities
- PDD
- Asperger's Syndrome
- physical disabilities
- sensory impairment
- people who require nursing care
Volunteers
SHEKEL is extremely proud of its 400 volunteers who serve in all of the departments. Professionals, retirees, highschool students, college students, people from overseas and soldiers may all find an area of interest in which they'd like to volunteer.
Currently SHEKEL is benefitting from young men and women from various European nations who chose to spend their National Service experience overseas. They are directly responsible for personal care in our Community Housing Programs in Jerusalem and in Petach Tikvah and are increasing their knowledge about Israel by travelling the Land and learning Hebrew. They are a tremendous asset to the SHEKEL family.
Please contact us if you are interested in participating.
