When I joined British Emunah as executive director, I knew it supported vulnerable children and families. What I had not appreciated was its breadth, its impact, or the darkest moments into which Emunah’s staff sometimes step. Working on our Rosh Hashanah appeal and hearing Gilad Katz’s story brought that reality home. Emunah becomes a place of safety when home is no longer safe, a family when family life has broken down, and a source of belief when a child cannot imagine a future.
Gilad’s childhood was shaped by abuse, fear and instability. He fled Israel with his mother when he was only eight years old and they spent several years abroad, largely in Switzerland with time in London, before they were forced to return. Once back in Israel, they faced financial hardship and lived in neighbourhoods where Gilad risked being drawn into life on the streets. At eleven and a half, he understood the danger of a life like this. “If you don’t put me in a residential home, you’re just going to keep seeing me wandering the streets,” he told social services.
Gilad chose Emunah Afula because he knew he needed somewhere safe. Yet arriving was terrifying. Knowing he would not be going home to his mother on that first night, he thought about running away. For the first three nights, a counsellor sat beside him until he could sleep. The counsellor could not change Gilad’s past, but he made sure that Gilad was not alone. By the following week, Gilad says, he never wanted to leave.
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The impactful part of Gilad’s story for me, was how the adults at Emunah looked beyond his behaviour and saw the pain beneath it. When Gilad was about 15, his mother promised to visit but did not arrive. He now understands she was struggling with depression. At the time, he felt abandoned. Overwhelmed, he pulled flowers from the garden and threw them towards younger children. He expected anger and punishment from staff. Instead, Chaim, Emunah’s educational co-ordinator, put his arms around him and simply stood with him. Afterwards, they cleared up together and Gilad worked in the garden for a month to make amends. He was held accountable but not penalised.