Be'er Sheva Sheltered Employment Center

Be'er Sheva Sheltered Employment Center

A Sheltered Employment Center (Ma'as in Hebrew) is a daily employment and rehabilitation framework for mentally retarded people aged 18 and over, that is operated under a tender of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The ongoing expenses of the Workshop are funded through per-head allocations from the Ministry and the local authority. The Yahdav Association has been operating the Be'er Sheva Sheltered Employment Center since 2002. The Israel Standards Institute recently awarded the Center the ISO-9000 in recognition of its excellent professional standards - one of only 4 Sheltered Employment Centers out of 60 nationwide to carry this standard.

Currently there are over 180 people with mental disabilities – including 15 from the Bedouin town of Rahat – working in the Be'er Sheva Ma'as in a number of production areas such as packaging, ceramic, arts and crafts, and wiring. The routine, responsibility and rewards of daily work gives the employees a great sense of meaning in their lives and increases their self esteem.

Some 40 of Ma’as employees have "graduated" to work outside in grocery stores, the hospital, bakeries, social organizations, etc. The Ma'as runs a program to support indefinitely these workers - and their employers - so that the placement is successful. Another innovative program is the "18+" initiative, by which pupils in three special education schools in the area spend one day a week at the workshop, learning about the opportunities for post-school employment.

  
With the Be'er Sheva Ma'as full to capacity, a new plot has been located in the city’s industrial zone, a 600 m2 building that requires total renovation in order to turn it into a sheltered workshop for 50 workers. The plan is to make this new wing of Ma’as into a production line for higher-functioning disabled adults, creating a new link in the continuum of employment options for this population. 
   

The Yahdav Association also operates a Ma’as in Dimona for approximately 60 adults as part of the Center for Special Needs that was renovated by the Rashi Foundation in partnership with the National Insurance Institute, Keren Shalem and the Dimona Municipality.