of Medicine
ERICE (Empowerment and Resilience in Children Everywhere)
Peace by Peace has worked diligently over the past year to publicize the message of ERICE with the help of one of ERICE's key figures, Dr. James Leckman. We strongly believe this project speaks to the heart of mistrust and insecurity between Israelis and Palestinians because it aims to train mental health professionals from both sides of the conflict, alongside one another, in order to return to their respective homes and treat children who are witness to dispicable acts of aggression. We anxiously await the implementation of this project and work tirelessly to identify funding for this work.
ERICE - Executive Summary
Project for Palestinian – Israeli Cooperation in Mental Health
Guided by the reality that our children are the future and that respect for and protection of children is a shared human value; The ERICE (Empowerment and Resilience in Children Everywhere) partnership of Israeli and Palestinian professionals works to promote well-being of children and families affected by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Under the administrative auspices of Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest HMO and a consortium of respected NGO’s in Palestine and Israel, we shall take collective action, provide professional education training opportunities and knowledge-based interventions in the field in order to strengthen civil society, empower youth and women, and build organizational and professional capacities so that current and future mental health professionals can better serve the children of the region.
The ERICE group was established in 2004 order to promote collaboration between mental health professionals from the Palestine and Israel on matters concerning the well being of children. The group consists of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers and includes Palestinians, and Jewish and Arab Israeli citizens. The organization has affiliations with major academic institutions in the region including Al Quds University in East Jerusalem, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and from the Universities of Tel Aviv and Bar-Ilan. We also have the involvement and support from Yale University in the USA and Italian Universities.
In the past the major focus of the ERICE group has been on ongoing discussions between the members and small-scale research projects. With further support, we propose to expand and transform these activities by setting up a knowledge and training center in Bet Jallah or East Jerusalem to build the capacity of local professionals through exposure to the latest advances in the field of child mental health and to conduct collaborative research projects which will help to define the child mental health needs in the region. Our partnership with IPCRI provides us with with much experience in logistics and political/cultural nuances of cross border programming.
The ERICE aims to implement the following goals: The objective shall be to build upon and expand existing ERICE cross border meetings and training sessions to include key decision makers in the field of community health and mental health. We believe that this partnership initiative will strengthen civil society, empower youth and women, and create educational opportunities that are capacity building so that current and future can better serve the children of the region.
1. To conduct cross border seminars & training and working groups on Arab-Jewish collaboration on mental health issues of mutual concern;
2. To expand the Facilitation of School-Based Interventions to Address the Aftermath of Trauma and train a second group of mental health facilitators;
3. complete the first comprehensive examination of Effects of Repeated Exposure to War, Terror, and Violence on the Development of Infant and Young Children with the aim of providing needed services;
4. To complete an epidemiological study Service Needs, Treatment Gaps and Barriers to Treatment in the West Bank and Arab-Israeli communities.
