![\"Rotem](\"https:\/\/www.thejoint.org.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/\u05e8\u05d5\u05ea\u05dd-\u05e4\u05d9\u05dc\u05d9\u05e4\u05e1-300x212.png\")
\u201cI arrived at the Disabled Veterans Center (Beit Halokhem) in Haifa, where a dedicated, professional team looked after me. I joined a wheelchair basketball team that became a social support circle, a team of equals, and a place to renew my faith in my body and in my strength. Eventually, I was named captain of Israel\u2019s wheelchair basketball team. About a year after my injury, I found love, moved in with her, started academic studies and my physical state quickly improved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was lucky! Many of the people I met in rehab and in later years found it hard to rebuild their lives. They found themselves tossed about in a whirlpool of depression, helplessness, loneliness, passivity, neglect, and economic deterioration.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeeting people and hearing their hard stories made me want to take an active part in changing this reality. Energized by tremendous motivation and with the knowledge, I had acquired, I was lucky to find work at JDC\u2019s Israel Unlimited as a program manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy in-depth understanding of the need to help people in their transition from hospitalization to full integration in the community inspired me to develop the \u201cBack Home\u201d program, which has been run as a pilot by Maccabi Health Services for the past three years. Recently another HMO, Meuhedet, also started offering this service to those encountering difficulties in the smooth transition from hospital to full rehab at home and in the community and needing help restoring control over their lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI derive immense satisfaction from knowing that the pilot program we developed with the Health Ministry and HMOs is providing far better service for many people like myself, facilitating a return to employment and productive lives that benefit them and society as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cAt the age of 25, some 23 years ago, my life was turned upside down as the result of an accident. I was a captain in the Navy, deputy commander of an operations vessel, in charge of 40 officers and soldiers. I lived in Tel Aviv and dreamed of the long trip abroad I would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[22],"class_list":["post-312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-disabilities"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n