Welfare and Health

The COVID-19 crisis exposed the injustices and the damage that the long-standing government policies have caused and continue to cause to asylum seekers, and their effects on the general Israeli population. Following years with no status and social rights, the outbreak of the pandemic and the economic shutdown immediately worsened the state of the asylum seekers’ community to one on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.

Our report – Staring into the Abyss – Asylum Seekers in Israel During COVID-19 –  describes and summarizes the first year of COVID-19 in Israel (March 2020 until March 2021) as experienced by asylum seekers in the country; the report examines the economic, physical and mental impacts of the pandemic and the following economic crisis on asylum seekers, and the ongoing ramifications of the crisis on their lives today.

Staring into the Abyss

Most asylum seekers in Israel lack access to welfare and health services. This situation particularly effects people with physical or mental disabilities.

Alongside public advocacy to promote welfare and health services for asylum seekers with disabilities, we assist them directly. This assistance is provided individually or in the framework of support groups for people with disabilities – for empowerment, psychological resilience and acquisition of tools to cope with their complex situation.

“Knowledge from Lived Experience” Training Course: Transforming Crisis into the Power to Support Others

Many asylum seekers and refugees in Israel live with the long-term effects of trauma, loss, and psychological distress, while also facing cultural, linguistic, and systemic barriers that limit their access to mental health and rehabilitation services.

ASSAF’s “Knowledge from Lived Experience” project, implemented in partnership with the “Consumers as Service Providers” program, is based on the recognition that lived experience is a valuable source of knowledge, resilience, and recovery—what we call the “university of life.”

Grounded in the Lived Experience approach, the program views people who have experienced personal crises not merely as service recipients, but as active partners in generating knowledge, promoting recovery, and developing community-based responses. The program is designed for asylum seekers and refugees who have experienced personal, family, or community crises, including survivors of torture, violence, and trauma, and who are in the process of recovery.

Its goal is to equip participants to transform their personal experiences into professional knowledge and a meaningful resource for others facing similar challenges. Throughout the training, participants learn to process their personal experiences, identify the knowledge, strengths, and insights that emerged from their journeys, and translate them into practical tools for providing empathetic, respectful, and non-judgmental peer support. At the same time, they develop self-advocacy and community advocacy skills, strengthen their confidence and leadership, and contribute to reducing the stigma surrounding mental health within asylum seeker and refugee communities.

Program Structure: The course consists of ten sessions, supported by interpretation and cultural mediation. Upon completion, participants may join a supervised practicum within ASSAF’s services, receiving ongoing professional guidance and mentorship.

Through the practicum, participants apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired, support others in their recovery journeys, and contribute to strengthening both individual and community resilience.

Open Space was established by ASSAF in December 2023, following the events of October 7 and the subsequent war, in response to the profound impact of ongoing trauma, isolation, and anxiety on Israel’s refugee and asylum seeker communities—particularly the most vulnerable. For many participants, the war reactivated earlier experiences of war, persecution, displacement, and torture, while intensifying feelings of uncertainty and social isolation.

The project provides an informal, safe, and accessible environment for both women and men. It is a community space where participants can simply be themselves: sharing coffee during a traditional coffee ceremony, engaging in creative activities, listening to music from different cultures, participating in group activities, and building meaningful social connections in a welcoming and respectful environment.

What makes Open Space unique is its commitment to the principles of mutual support and lived experience. Rather than drawing a sharp distinction between “service providers” and “service recipients,” the space recognizes that every participant possesses valuable knowledge, experiences, and strengths that can benefit others.

Through informal encounters, conversation, creative expression, and shared activities, participants strengthen one another, reduce loneliness, and build both personal and collective resilience. For many participants—who face insecure legal status, poverty, social exclusion, and traumatic memories—Open Space is far more than a meeting place. It is a place where they experience belonging, find community, make their voices heard, and know they do not have to face their challenges alone.

It is estimated that about 4,000 survivors of the Sinai torture camps live in Israel today. These men and women are not eligible for health and welfare services, and are in danger of a deterioration in their difficult physical and mental conditions. These survivors are often in complex social situations, suffering from severe trauma and in need of medical care, as well as physical and mental support frameworks to help them rebuild their lives.

Alongside public activities advocating welfare and health services for asylum seekers who survived torture, we provide direct assistance to these vulnerable people. Survivors of torture and human trafficking who contact us receive access to the diverse services and responses that we offer to asylum seekers in Israel, including humanitarian assistance, assistance in exercising rights, as well as individual and group support.

There are asylum seekers who do not belong to one of the above two projects – people with disabilities and survivors of torture. This includes women and families affected by domestic violence, single mothers, elderly asylum seekers, asylum seekers engaged in prostitution and asylum seekers from the LGBTQ community. For these people we run this project.

As part of this project, in addition to our public activities advocating welfare and health services for people in this project, we assist them directly. The assistance is provided individually or in support groups for people with disabilities – for empowerment, strengthening psychological resilience and acquiring tools to deal with their complex situation.