sderot
resilience center
Sderot is located in the western Negev, less than 2 kilometers from Gaza. Sderot was founded in 1951 as a development town and today has over 30,000 inhabitants, 25% of whom are new immigrants. The city suffers from a high unemployment and poverty rate compared to the national average. An estimated 30% of Sderot’s population are children and young people under the age of 18. The standard of education is also below the national average.
Sderot was hit hard by the attack on October 7. 53 people lost their lives that day. Even today, the city is still on the front line of the conflict in the “Iron Swords” war and has only 15 seconds to seek shelter when a rocket alarm sounds.
As the fighting continues in the south, Keren Hajessod, together with the city of Sderot, is looking to the future and investing in projects that restore and strengthen the security, resilience and sense of community of the residents of Sderot. A comprehensive range of community facilities increases the quality of life for residents and promotes the city’s growth.
One of the most important initiatives to empower the residents of Sderot is the establishment of a new resilience center.
STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE IN SDEROT
The consequences of the terrible attack on October 7 are omnipresent in Sderot. The trauma runs deep and resurfaces with every rocket attack. Many suffer from severe psychological problems, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, sleep disorders, depression, nightmares, educational difficulties and bedwetting in children. The evacuation of residents to hotels across the country, which has cut them off from their familiar surroundings, has further exacerbated these challenges. It is therefore crucial to provide residents with the mental health support they need to regain their resilience.
The Municipal Resilience Center was founded in 2008 to help residents cope with the security situation in the immediate vicinity of Gaza and its consequences. The center offers free psychological treatment and treats emergencies throughout the city. In 2015, an additional animal therapy center was established to provide highly effective treatments.
Before the war, around 2,000 people were treated at the resilience center every year. Since the beginning of the war, the number of people seeking treatment has risen to 8,000. Accordingly, additional therapists have been recruited, so that their number has risen from 50 before the war to 300 today. However, the existing resilience centers in Sderot are not equipped for this growing demand, especially as it will continue to increase in the coming years.
For this reason, the city of Sderot is planning a new resilience center in partnership with Keren Hajessod.
THE NEW RESILIENCE CENTER IN SDEROT
The new resilience center will be located in Sderot’s new Bustanim district, as part of a new building that will also house kindergartens and a synagogue.
The planned three-storey building will have an area of around 1,700 square meters. The first floor will house four preschools, while the second and third floors will house a synagogue and the expanded resilience center.
The following premises are planned for the 800 square meters:
- 6 rooms for group therapy
- 4 rooms for individual therapy
- 4 rooms for family therapy
- 1 exercise therapy room
- 1 therapeutic sensory room
- An archive, a staff room, 3 offices, toilets and a kitchenette
- A protected room on each floor for emergencies
The proximity to the nursery and synagogue offers a unique advantage, as the resilience center is embedded in the everyday life of the community. This approach emphasizes the importance of resilience as part of a community perspective and allows for the expansion of treatment options to preschool children. The expansion will significantly increase the number of treatments offered.
Construction is scheduled to start in September 2025 and will take around 20 months.
