Kishorit’s Vocational Training Courses

Vision

Kishorit’s vision is to provide the proper training, supervision, and support, for members to create a positive and empowering employment experience. Productive employment is a vital part of the rehabilitation process and a significant step toward independence. Work provides a daily routine, a place to form social bonds and learn new skills, and a source of self-esteem and self-worth.

Activity

Kishorit is an extraordinary community where 186 neurodiverse adults live hand in hand with a growing mainstream community. Modeled after the traditional Kibbutz (an Israeli collective community traditionally based on agriculture), we provide a continuum of long-term residential, vocational and social solutions for adults with developmental disabilities and debilitating mental illnesses.

Community members can choose to live in supported apartments in the nearby city of Karmiel or on Kishorit.

They work in the mainstream workforce or one of Kishorit’s ten businesses or one of the community services. After working hours, they enjoy a myriad of leisure time activities, including sports, dance, choir, sewing, cooking, time with friends, and a wide range of other opportunities for social engagement. Kishorit provides a home for life for adults who need extra support and, in many cases, have aging parents who can no longer care for them.

Meaningful, productive employment is critical to the rehabilitation and self-esteem of Kishorit members. Almost every Kishorit member has a job that is suited to their strengths and interests, either in the broader community or in one of Kishorit’s revenue-generating businesses/services (90% of Kishorit members work). Providing productive employment for the Kishorit members is vital in the rehabilitation/therapeutic process and a significant step towards their independence. In addition, work offers a daily routine, a place to form social bonds, a way to learn new skills, and a source of self-esteem and self-worth. With the proper training, supervision, support, and guidance, most Kishorit members integrate into the workforce.

Vocational training empowers members and assists them in being productive, contributing members of the community. Neurodiverse adults learn best in small training groups with one-to-one teaching and guidance opportunities. When training is combined with hands-on work, members successfully acquire new skills and knowledge. Our goal is for members to become part of income-generating businesses, gain a sense of pride and purpose, and become empowered.

kishorit.org.il/en/anafim

In special education, there’s too much emphasis placed on the deficit and not enough on the strength.

- Temple Grandin

Naama Harel

Naama Harel has worked at Kishorit since 2017. She has been a registered Occupational Therapist since 2008. She has worked with neurodiverse children and adults (special needs) in various frameworks such as schools for special needs kids, community rehabilitation hubs, and sheltered housing centers.

At Kishorit, Naama works as a Case Manager for a group of Kishorit members and is the liaison to their families. Naama also oversees establishing, facilitating, and evaluating vocational training in various branches of Kishorit’s businesses and services.

Additionally, Naama is certified in hydrotherapy and is an occupational therapist clinical instructor.

Naama is responsible for the establishment of vocational training courses on Kishorit. She works under the guidance of Hagar Tepper, Head of the Social Services on Kishorit, and Yehoshua (Shuki) Levinger, CEO and Co-Founder of Kishorit.

Naama works closely with the service managers to create vocational training opportunities for Kishorit members in the various workplaces in the community. Furthermore, together with the social services team, Naama works to recruit members to courses based on their interests and accompany them during the training.

Naama is also responsible for evaluating all vocational courses; based on the outcome, revisions and tweaks to the courses are made.