The Meytal House Day Center for adults requiring full-time care under the auspices of the Shalem Foundation recently concluded the workshop, “Self-advocacy and Self-representation,” directed by Maya Goldman and emceed by Lea Davidson
The groundbreaking workshop, among the first of its kind, was held as a pilot project, assessing the prospect of continuity. The process, entailing a workshop for staff members, a meeting for parents, and private and group counseling, was meant to introduce the approach of self-advocacy and self-representation among staff members and the center’s service recipients.
The newspaper is the result of unique activity launched this year in the Meytal House Day Center, focusing on the topics enrichment and knowledge, with methods of implementation produced in cooperation with center service recipients and based on the principals of self-advocacy. In the course of activities for enhancing enrichment and knowledge, center service recipients were exposed to current events via guided exposure to news items, after which the program instructor raised questions, opening opportunities for in-depth analyzation of the material viewed.
Towards the end of the month-long project, workshop participants take upon themselves the editing of the newspaper: choosing topics, colors and, of course, a name for the paper. The newspaper publishing process was led by Meytal House counselor Sharona Abraham, under the administration of Reut Golanik Sela
The center’s self-advocacy process was a joint effort of The Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, the Municipality of Rishon L’Zion, Maya Goldman and the Shalem Foundation, which also assisted in funding the program