A unique collaboration between Carmel Hospital (part of the Clalit Group), the Rozana Association, and the prestigious Charité in Berlin led to the launch of the SHELTERS project, a first-of-its-kind international initiative that aims to strengthen the emotional, professional, and social resilience of multicultural medical teams working in conflict zones.
SHELTERS (Supporting Healthcare Emergency Responses) is a project funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, launched in 2024 by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Clalit Health Services.
The initiative aims to improve immediate access to high-quality mental health care in Israel, particularly for those most affected by the terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023. SHELTERS focuses on supporting approximately 130,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the northern and southern border regions of Israel, who were forced to leave their homes due to the attacks and the subsequent escalation of the conflict. Many of these individuals are in urgent need of psychological support, yet the existing healthcare infrastructure is often overwhelmed and unable to meet the increased demand.
Carmel Hospital – a beacon of coexistence
Carmel Hospital has been considered, for decades, a model of coexistence and shared destiny. Long before the term “multiculturalism” became a buzzword, doctors, nurses, administrators, and paramedical staff from all religions and nationalities—Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Druze—worked within its walls, shoulder to shoulder, around one common goal: saving lives.
The events of the past year and the ongoing war have also posed significant challenges to the hospital’s strong human fabric. The Committee to Strengthen Dialogue between Jews and Arabs, which has been operating at Carmel since 2023, was forced to freeze its activities due to the sensitivity and complexity.
At the initiative of Anat Nachtigal, Director of the Psychological Service at the hospital, a connection was made with the SHELTERS project. The goal of the project is to provide medical teams with a safe space for emotional and professional processing of issues of identity, culture, and conflict, while acquiring practical tools for working in a multicultural environment, under continuous pressure.
As part of the project, teams involved from the hospital have already begun participating in an intensive workshop consisting of five daily sessions, led by the Rozana Association, which specializes in accompanying medical teams in conflict zones.
Core Activities of SHELTERS
Needs-based mental health care for individuals particularly affected by the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks:
- Identifying individuals at increased risk of mental illness, assessing their care needs, and providing appropriate mental health support.
- Improving access to mental health services through a chatbot that assesses care needs, provides direct Psychological First Aid, and connects users to further mental health services.
- Targeted support for women particularly affected by the crisis through the development and piloting of gender-specific health interventions, and the distribution of individual protection kits for women affected by intimate partner violence.
- Strengthening the resilience of affected Bedouin communities by establishing and operating five community-based centers.
Improving the quality of mental health services through the training of healthcare professionals:
- Training resilience coaches.
- Providing training for non-specialized healthcare workers in stress and trauma management.
- Conducting resilience-building and coexistence workshops for healthcare professionals working in high-stress and conflict-affected environments.
- Training healthcare professionals to recognize signs of intimate partner violence.
Looking ahead
The project is already generating positive feedback and receiving enthusiastic responses from international participants and partners, who see Carmel as living proof that even in a reality full of conflicts, resilience, trust, and human and professional partnership can be built.