From public shelter to IDF service: A success story of employment integration
Cooperation between "HaMishkam" and the IDF is changing the lives of workers with disabilities: "I stop and look at the soldiers, and I get emotional. After everything I went through, I didn't believe it."
About three and a half years ago, a cooperation began between the company "HaMishkam", the IDF, and the Employment Service, with the goal of integrating people with disabilities into meaningful employment on IDF bases. The company "HaMishkam" works to integrate people with disabilities into the labor market through rehabilitative employment, covering roles in gardening, maintenance, cleaning, packaging, and kitchen work on over 40 bases across the country.
For example, at the Ground Forces Command base, Camp Bar-Lev in the Shephelah, there is a project filling 15 positions that has become a successful model of employment integration based on personal adjustment, professional accompaniment, and close cooperation between the three bodies. Each worker undergoes role adjustment according to their abilities and receives professional and social support, providing a sense of belonging, stability, and meaning.
Behind this cooperation stand extraordinary life stories. Rafi (61) from Kiryat Malachi came to "HaMishkam" after years of living in a public shelter, without work or stability. Today, he works in the gardening team on an IDF base.
"Sometimes I stop and look at the soldiers, and I get emotional. After everything I went through, I didn't believe I would reach such a place, that they would accept me with respect and see me as part of the team. Today I wake up in the morning with a reason to leave the house."
Working alongside him is Meir Alfasi (60), who for years had difficulty maintaining steady employment. After receiving a chance through "HaMishkam", he has been working for about two years:
"I found friends, I enjoy arriving every morning, seeing the soldiers, and feeling part of the place. The work gave me order, meaning, and joy."
Both share a common message: "Don't sit at home. Go out to work. If you are looking for a place that will believe in you and give you a real chance, there is someone who will see you."
Ariel Levy, CEO of "HaMishkam", tells "Maariv":
"Rafi and Meir are proof of what happens when you give people a real chance. Behind every worker is a life story, but we do not define people by where they came from, but by where they can reach. The cooperation with the IDF proves that through trust, accompaniment, and meaningful employment, it is possible to change an entire life path. Beyond work integration, the workers gain a framework, a sense of belonging, and self-confidence, while the organization gains dedicated, professional, and highly motivated workers. This is the true meaning of rehabilitation through employment."
