Ohel Kestenbaum Family International Children’s Services

Ohel’s Kestenbaum Family International Children’s Services provides trauma support and resilience-building programs to children and schools in the United States, Canada, Israel, and countries around the world. Building children’s capacity to cope with challenges is at the heart of everything we do. “It’s important to empower our children with tools and resources to address trauma, become resilient adults, and maintain healthy emotional awareness throughout their lives,” said Ohel CEO David Mandel.

Disaster and Crisis Event Response

In the aftermath of disasters, we leverage our expertise in helping children cope with trauma. Our mental health professionals work with families and within schools, connecting with community leaders, clergy, and school principals to reach as many affected people as possible. Our approach ensures that parents and teachers receive the support they need to respond to the children they care for.

Our deep experience working with Israel and in disaster areas prepared us to respond swiftly after October 7th. We distributed resources to tens of thousands of children in Israel’s most impacted communities, providing “Welcome Home” packages for evacuees returning to the South, a preschool resilience handbook, and a tip sheet. We have worked with Ukrainian war refugees in the U.S., and we are collaborating with the humanitarian organization Early Starters International to bring our services to children in war zones.

“How children cope is very much tied to how the adults in their lives cope,” aaid Dr. Carly Namdar, director of Resilience Programs & School-Based Services. “When you give strength to other people, you yourself are strengthened.”

Programs and Services Offered

Ohel Kestenbaum Family International Children’s Services offers

• Pre-bereavement programs
• Community education
• Proactive trauma-informed, resilience-based curricula for schools and synagogues
• Teacher Support Helpline helps educators cope with the effects of trauma on their students and themselves