While our lone soldiers are still in the field fighting for Israel’s existence, we at the Center are already preparing for the day our boys and girls come home.

From our experience with past conflicts and seeing some of our closest friends suffer from stress syndromes following their combat experiences – we know first hand how important it is for all soldiers to be able to internalize, decompress and simply talk about what they saw. Getting things off their chest now will hopefully keep them from being haunted for years to come.

The Lone Soldier Center is planning Six gatherings for lone soldiers who have fought, been injured, and lost close friends in Gaza. Three gatherings will be held in Jerusalem and three in Tel Aviv, to ensure all of the lone soldiers touched by the war will be able to attend (as leave will not be given to all units at the same time). These evenings will enable the Center’s staff to better understand, refer and provide additional professional help and resources for those who will need it in the coming months and beyond.

The gatherings will be officially called “Appreciation Evenings” so that all of the soldiers will feel comfortable attending. The exact format of the evening will not be advertised, due to the stigmas that unfortunately still exist regarding reaching out for psychological assistance, inside and outside of the army framework.