Cargivers Israel

Caregivers Israel, founded in 2014 , serves Israel's community of family caregivers- i.e., individuals attending to the wellbeing of an ailing family member - through legislation, education, and personal consultation The State of Israel is a relatively young country with limited experience in caring for an aging population and senior citizens. Over the past 20 years, we have been witnessing, for the first time, the social symptoms of aging within the community and the need to promote positive aspects of community-based aging in its various dimensions. This is facilitated by both formal and informal systems designed to assist senior citizens. Awareness of the importance of supporting family members who care for senior citizens is still low. Consequently, there is no clear policy defining the needs of these caregiving family members. The available services are sparse and sporadic, and most do not recognize caregiving family members as a direct target audience for care and support. Therefore, there is an immediate and urgent need to develop a national policy and promote dedicated services that enable these individuals to effectively manage their caregiving responsibilities alongside their own lives—without it being at their expense. Organization's Areas of Activity: The organization operates on three main levels: Personal Level – Providing ongoing and free counseling, guidance, and telephone support services to family members who care for senior citizens through our network of counseling and support volunteers. Additionally, we offer dozens of lectures annually to caregiving family members across the country and online. Organizational Level – Collaborating with employers in the public, business, and social sectors to promote "family-friendly organizations" for caregiving family members. As part of this effort, we have worked with the Joint and the Civil Service Commission to develop comprehensive policies for employees who are caregiving family members, including a 2022 policy for permanent service members in the IDF. In about 15 business and social organizations, we provide personal and group support for employees who are caregiving family members. Public Level – Advocating with state institutions to develop public policies that nurture and empower caregiving family members of senior citizens. We participate in an inter-ministerial team led by the Prime Minister's Office and work directly with government and local authorities. Our efforts include attending Knesset committee meetings and more. In addition to these activities, we tirelessly work to bring the stories of caregiving family members to the forefront, raising public awareness of their challenges and contributions through various media channels (television, print and digital media, Facebook, radio). We also promote research and publish articles in international journals.