On the Jerusalem Post’s Healing Israel: A Nation in Trauma broadcast, Hila Shvoron, deputy director of NATAL and director of its Community Resiliency Unit, discussed the organization’s urgent trauma relief efforts with JPost media strategist Inbal Ann Bouskila.
NATAL is an apolitical non-profit organization that offers psychological and emotional treatment and support to victims of trauma due to war and terror. A recognized expert in the field of psychological trauma, NATAL strives to advance the resiliency of Israeli society.
For over 27 years, it has been providing psychological assistance to Israelis from all sectors of society and has touched the lives of over 550,000 people.
It offers a unique model of multidisciplinary psychological support through its helplines, community resiliency unit, clinical unit, and career development unit.
Shvoron began by sharing the story of Daniel, a 33-year-old reservist and social worker at NATAL. “He served for 320 days during that war, while coping with PTSD,” she said, “Daniel represents thousands of Israelis.”
Now running NATAL’s peer support program for reservists, Daniel recorded a message from the frontlines. “Your therapist might see your pain, but they don’t always have the tools to truly be there for you and understand what you are going through,” he said. “That’s what trained peers can provide, someone who’s experienced it.”
In addition to NATAL’s helpline run by highly trained volunteers, its innovative peer support program trains reservists and first responders to provide emotional first aid for their peers.
“They know how to listen, validate, and normalize,” Shvoron noted. “They speak a language I would never understand.”
Its uniqueness as an organization stems from the vast experience its staff has amassed over 27 years of operation, as well as the continuous, rigorous work in times of both war and in peace time. NATAL’s strength lies in its combination of professional expertise and peer-based emotional support, built over nearly three decades.
In the past year, NATAL has trained 45 peer supporters and has plans to reach 180,000 people in need of emotional support over two years.
“We don’t want them to [have to] wait for formal recognition processes and bureaucracy. We want them to get help when and where they need it,” Shvoron emphasized. “Our mission is to ensure no one is left behind,” she added. “We are addressing continuous circles of vulnerability.”
This article was written in collaboration with NATAL.