Kerem Support Centers – support centers for children and youth that have experienced sexual abuse, and for those displaying harmful sexual behavior (HSB)
Sexual abuse against children and young people is a deeply painful traumatic event that greatly affects the victim’s emotional, behavioral and social worlds.
Northern Goals Kerem support centers were founded with the aim of providing a safe, sensitive, professional and accessible space within the community, where the recipients can process painful experiences, mitigate its effects and gradually resume a normal life. The Kerem centers were founded with the belief that every child and adolescent who have experienced sexual abuse is entitled to sensitive and professional care that can promote healing, reestablish trust and return to healthy growth. Accordingly, the professional approach views harmful sexual behavior (HSB) as a response to trauma and provides treatment and support aimed at preventing future high-risk behavior by healing the root trauma.
The Kerem centers are a unique anchor of support, without which many children in Israel’s northern region would remain without professional help and support.
The Kerem-center activity
The Kerem centers provide emotional care tailored for children and adolescents who have experienced sexual abuse and for those who exhibit harmful sexual behavior, within and outside of the family. The program is free for children and youth up to 18 years old (or up to graduation). Each therapy program is based on a personal evaluation and includes a therapeutic support program that is fully tailored to the child or adolescent and his or her family.
The programs provide:
- One-on-one psychological counseling
- Parental counseling and guidance
- Requirements and risk assessment in cases of HSB
- Family counseling
- Group dynamic therapy
- Support throughout legal proceedings
The team
The team at Kerem centers includes psychologists, clinical social workers and creative art and expression therapists – all whom specialize in childhood sexual trauma.
We place the utmost importance on the tailoring of the support program to the recipient’s language, culture and community in order to ensure a targeted, supportive and respectful healing process.
Detection & prevention
Alongside providing care for victims of sexual abuse, the Kerem centers also offer the following services:
- Identification of children experiencing abuse in the community to ensure immediate intervention.
- Prevention of reoccurrence of sexual abuse.
- Training community mental care professionals as first responders in cases of assault.
- Treatment of children with HSB – in order to prevent future harmful behavior.
Locations and access
Northern Goals has 5 regional Kerem centers:
- Kerem Galilee-Golan – (Safed, Tiberias, Kiryat Shmonah, Katzrin, Jordan Valley, Majdal Shams) kerem.gg@yeadim.org
- Kerem Karmiel – (Karmiel, Maalot, Sakhnin) kerem.wg@yeadim.org
- Kerem Nazareth– Nazareth, Kfar Manda, Albatuf, Tamra, Illut kerem.n@yeadim.org
- Kerem um al-Fahm – um al-Fahm, Jisr a-Zarqa – Kerem.Olf@yeadim.org
Kerem Nahariya – Nahariya, Acre, Ma’alot- Kerem.Nahariya@yeadim.org
