On October 7th, two significant events took place in our country: a disaster and mobilization.
Regarding the disaster, which is still ongoing and will be talked about extensively, it's important to focus on mobilization now.
On the same Saturday morning, an initiative called "H.A.L.O.M." was founded.
Caregivers for Citizens in Trauma, Anxiety, and Emergency Situations. It includes over 500 caregivers, social workers, and clinical psychologists specializing in trauma, anxiety, and emergency situations, providing emotional support to over 1,000 citizens.
The organization was established by its CEO and founder, Coral Freiden, out of an instinctive response to the urgent and immediate need for emotional support. She said, "On October 7th, the entire nation was in shock, and citizens of the country were divided into three groups: Flight, fight, or freeze. As someone who has experienced post-trauma myself, I realized immediately that I was in the 'fight' category."
With trembling hands and a clouded mind, she posted the following sentence on social media: "To provide emotional support to residents of the affected areas." Within an hour, together with a close friend, they formed a WhatsApp group to serve as a communication channel between citizens and caregivers for immediate emotional assistance.
Frieden set three main goals for the initiative "H.A.L.O.M." :
To create a platform for immediate emotional support.
To recruit caregivers.
To enlist friends for the operation of the initiative.
She posted a request for caregivers to volunteer for the initiative on social media, and within minutes, they received dozens of inquiries and started building the infrastructure. "Between the fifth and seventh day, we realized that we had become a massive initiative," said Fridan. "More than 1,200 men, women, and children from all over the country found a warm and supportive home, receiving real-time support. We also received inquiries from citizens stuck abroad and in distress."
Recognizing the challenging nighttime hours, they recruited Hebrew-speaking caregivers residing in various countries, including Australia, Portugal, and the United States. Today, the initiative operates 24/7 from anywhere in the world, offering personalized assistance based on age, language, and communication preferences. For those who cannot or do not want to talk, they provide the option of text-based communication.
Every day, the fear and anxiety reveal new needs, and Frieden assembled a team of managers, trainers, and human resource coordinators for the volunteer work. Currently, over 500 volunteers worldwide are involved, including 300 caregivers and 30 coordinators. They also received support from corporate companies like HOT, Monday.com, and Cloudonix.
Frieden understood that their people have a secret, eternal, and irrefutable weapon – unity. From the dawn of history, there has been no other nation that has successfully organized itself quickly and efficiently to provide mutual aid in times of crisis. This inspired the "H.A.L.O.M." organization to convey the message that they are here to assist their citizens during the crisis and do their utmost to provide quick support, considering privacy, ethical standards, and professionalism.
At this stage, the organization is in development and continuous management in emergency procedures, working all the time to improve and expand the initiative. They aspire and are determined to continue the initiative even after the war ends, if possible, to provide deeper emotional support.
