16 | OCTOBER 31 • 2024 J
N

I

sraeli trauma specialist Renana 
Danon is leading a U.S. speaking 
tour that includes a stop in Metro 
Detroit at the Jewish Federation of 
Detroit’s free lunch-and-learn event 
on Sunday, Nov. 3.
Held at Congregation 
B’nai Moshe in 
West Bloomfield, 
“Overcoming Trauma: 
Israeli Youth Mental 
Health Post 10/7” is 
open to the community 
and anyone interested 
in learning more about how the 
ongoing crisis is impacting the 
mental health of Israeli teens.

Danon, who serves as ELEM’s 
assistant director of clinical training, 
will share the critical work that the 
Israeli nonprofit is doing to support 
at-risk youth by providing mental 
health and trauma care. Danon 
oversees employee training and 
develops specialized training sessions 
to ensure all staff are equipped with 
the knowledge and tools to respond 
to these challenges.
Dr. Tracey Stulberg, a 
Birmingham-based therapist, will 
also be speaking.
ELEM serves more than 12,500 
youth annually, addressing 
issues such as domestic violence, 

substance abuse, neglect, bullying, 
homelessness and prostitution. 
The organization helps care for 
and reintegrate youth into their 
communities through counseling, 
mentorship and job training.
“The mental state of Israelis, 
and especially Israeli youth, is very 
uneasy these days,” Danon says. 
“The situation is so dynamic that 
a weekend can completely change 
everything. Teens need a steady 
routine and a safe environment to 
grow in — right now, 
they are mostly faced 
with uncertainty, 
real physical 
danger, and 
traumatizing 
stories and 
images.”

ISRAEL’S 
YOUTH 
MENTAL 
HEALTH CRISIS
A staggering ELEM 
impact report completed 
in July 2024, six months after 
the Hamas attack, found the majority 
of Israeli youth are experiencing 
trauma-related conditions. 
The eye-opening report also 
discovered that 30% of the 
approximately 150,000 people 
evacuated from their homes because 
of the ongoing conflict are teens and 
young adults.
Data obtained from youth 
evacuation centers that partner with 
ELEM show that more than 50% of 
displaced youth are dropping out of 
traditional school, family and social 
frameworks. Of that group, 47% 
started consuming drugs and alcohol 
at what ELEM calls “alarming” rates.
Several factors are at play in 
Israel’s growing youth mental health 
crisis. Direct trauma, exposure to 
harmful online content, interrupted 
lives and destabilized family units are 
only a few contributors of many that 
are harming the mental health of 
Israel’s youngest generations.
Among 200 surveyed teens, 
a shocking 87% experienced 
loneliness, depression and anxiety. 

Another 64% felt absence of family 
support, while 56% experienced 
poverty and hunger.
Still, the news isn’t all bad. ELEM 
found some improvement in Israeli 
youth mental health compared to 
the first quarter initially following 
the war. The organization says this 
can be attributed to direct assistance 
programs, robust communities and 
moves to permanent housing.
Initiatives operated by ELEM, like 
Breathing Spaces in schools (which 
were established 
to take care of 
teens and young 
adults exposed to 
direct and indirect 
trauma) help 
reduce the impact.
These Breathing 
Spaces are 
informal mental 
health spaces 
that support youth 
evacuated from the 
Gaza perimeter and the 
North of Israel, which is 
the closest to Lebanon.
In total, 2,504 teens in distress 
have reached out to ELEM’s 
WhatsApp and other chat mental 
health support options as of July 
2024. It’s a crisis experts are calling 
crucial to address.

STANDING IN SOLIDARITY
Sharing knowledge and information 
about Israel’s youth mental health 
crisis and ongoing efforts like those 
initiated by ELEM help draw global 
awareness to this growing issue.
At Federation’s Israel & Overseas 
free lunch-and-learn event on Nov. 3, 
guests will hear firsthand about the 
impact that the war has had — and 
continues to have — on Israeli youth.
Danon will share firsthand 
accounts of ELEM’s work on the 
ground, challenges faced by youth in 
Israel and methods being employed 
to provide continuous care as the 
situation evolves.
“The Detroit lunch-and-learn 
will be a very interesting event for 
anyone interested in the efforts to 
support youth in this awful war,” 

A lunch-and-learn event through Federation 
is highlighting the impact of the ongoing 
war on Israel’s youngest populations.

Israel’s Hidden 
Youth Mental 
Health Crisis

Renana 
Danon

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

Breathing Spaces 
in schools were 
established to 
take care of 
teens and young 
adults exposed 
to direct and 
indirect trauma.