Throughout the year, OneFamily’s nine youth coordinators and 60 volunteer counselors, each responsible for 10-15 children, provide informal support and guidance as well as physical and psychological support to our youngest victims as they deal with the brutal blows of terrorism.

Well-meaning family members, teachers or friends unfamiliar with trauma often respond to the emotional distress by addressing the symptoms instead of addressing the trauma. Children exhibit difficulty sleeping, eating, learning, concentrating and a disinterest in being social, and are easily agitated.

Generally, it is the OneFamily counselors, who are trained by professional therapists, who identify the danger signs and seek appropriate help in meeting the child’s needs.

When the child’s emerging needs reflect developing stress in the family, OneFamily’s case workers assess the needs of the family unit as a whole, providing the family more comprehensive intervention and aid.

The Youth Division’s activities are anchored by OneFamily’s summer and holiday camps; bringing victims ages 8-18 together for four days during the Passover and Chanukah Holidays, and seven days during the summer vacation.

A great deal of thought and preparation goes into structuring each of the camps in order to strike the correct balance between three types of activities:

Fun and leisure activities: The aim of these activities is for the children to be happy, to find release and to prepare the groundwork for deeper therapeutic activities. Activities include hikes, jeep tours, amusement parks, swimming, videos, cultural activities and more.

Semi-therapeutic activities and non-verbal therapy workshops: The aim of these activities is to create social and therapeutic depth in indirect ways, in order to deepen relationships, process significant emotional issues sub-consciously, and empower the children to share their internal worlds through experiences. Examples of these activities include ODT activities, cooking, movement workshops, hydrotherapy, drama therapy and touch workshops.

Verbal and frontal therapy activities: These aim to develop direct dialogue on issues of loss and bereavement, memory, longing, pain, memorializing, and difficulties dealing with family and friends as a result of the child’s bereavement or trauma. These activities are led by specialist counselors and therapists who work at each camp.

OneFamily’s Big Brother and Sister Program is one effort within a continuum of care for the most emotionally fragile children in our Youth Division. Those who have lost a parent or older sibling are paired with university-aged students who support and help them address the special difficulties of growing up in their painful circumstances through direct and personal contact.

The Big Brother and Sister Program pairs those children and teens most in need of strong emotional guidance with Big Brothers and Sisters who become just that – caring, mature role models, always at their side, whether in person, by phone or through social networking. Their time together can include fun excursions, help with school work and participation in joint gatherings with similarly bereaved and injured children and their Big Brothers and Sisters.

This contact serves a dual purpose. It transmits the message that someone special cares and is there for them, offering friendship and emotional support. While creating opportunities for the Big Brother or Sister to monitor the child’s recovery and needs, be they material, educational, medical or psychological.

The Big Brothers and Sisters are also present for the child’s birthday, and on the memorial day for the family member whom the child has lost. They are always prepared to offer support and nurturing, whenever and however the children may need them.

Education is a vital and significant part of the lives of children and youth aged 6 to 18. Following tragedy and trauma, children suffer challenges with their concentration and retention skills. Failure to succeed educationally follows children through the rest of their lives. It is essential that terror does not define their educational and future professional career.

In order to make their educational experience as conducive to their recovery as possible, OneFamily provides the resources for children to receive the educational support they need. Such support includes private teachers, group study and special tutoring.

This educational enrichment allows the children to keep up with their peers and advance along with the pace of the classroom – while also providing them with the emotional breathing space they need to learn at their own pace.

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