sderot - JOIN Israel

Stories of Impact: JOIN Israel’s Our Own Way of Sderot

JOIN Israel’s Our Own Way project (OOW), based in the city of Sderot, began as an innovative at-risk youth program and has burgeoned into a community-wide supportive network for a full array of vulnerable populations. OOW identifies at-risk youth, elderly, single mothers, new immigrants, and impoverished living in subsidized housing, enlists lay-leaders, and introduces support groups. Group participants are encouraged to formulate ideas to improve their communities.

Article by Kate Hertz Located approximately one mile outside of Gaza, Sderot has become known as the “bomb-shelter capital” with everything from bus stops to playgrounds doubling as bomb-shelters to protect residents from Qassam rockets. Alarms sound 15 seconds before a rocket hits the city, forcing people to live in constant fear of needing to…