At The Warm Home, we consider the combat team a central component in shaping the resilience of the Unit combatants. Tailoring to the unique situation and needs of each team, we offer a variety of interventions aimed at: processing combat experiences, strengthening group dynamics, supporting the transition process from combat to civilian life, and providing tools for coping with the challenges of returning home and everyday routines.
The Warm Home views the team as a group with a key role in building and preserving the resilience of the Unit combatants. According to each team’s situation and needs, we offer various interventions that promote resilience and assist in processing combat experiences, improving team dynamics, supporting transitions between combat and civilian life, and providing tools for coping with the challenges of returning home from the battlefield.
The Warm Home collaborates with “Bishvil Hamachar” (For Tomorrow) and “Mitiv” foundations, and annually sends reserve combat teams on a multi-month process, culminating in an eight-day combat experience processing expedition abroad. We also provide group and individual support to the team even after the expedition’s conclusion. We find that these expeditions hold significant value and contribution, as attested repeatedly by alumni who participate. The expeditions allow for simultaneous and mutually enriching individual and group processing. The length of the journey, the new and distant location, the intensive activity schedule, the shared living, the skilled facilitators team, and the carefully crafted content – all these elements contribute to creating a powerful space for a new encounter. This encounter fosters growth both individually and collectively as a group.
During the Swords of Iron War, the Unit’s combat teams faced difficult and prolonged experiences. These experiences affect both the individual combatant and the entire team. Experience shows that processing within the team framework allows for healing and growth in ways that individual therapy sometimes cannot.
We reach out to teams who have experienced impactful combat and offer tailored processing workshops – designed according to each team’s nature and needs. For example, a workshop on processing grief and loss is offered for teams who have lost comrades, in collaboration with the “Gvanim” (Shades/Nuances) Foundation. The workshops typically last two to three days, but shorter, more focused interventions can also be structured, such as a session with a professional or a walking journey that encourages processing through movement and conversation.
The transitions from home to combat and back present challenges, including the need to maintain the team as a supportive and meaningful space. To this end, we have established collaborations with organizations that offer experiential processes enabling both team building and deep dialogue. For example, in collaboration with the “YAMTOV” Foundation, a series of meetings is held combining surfing lessons with facilitated discussion circles. These processes are particularly suitable for teams seeking to strengthen their sense of belonging and create a continuous group process, usually comprising three to four sessions.
Squad leaders have a unique role that combines command responsibilities with significant emotional challenges. The squad leader is required to make decisions in the field, protect their combatants – and sometimes remains in a solitary position, different from the rest of the team. At “The Warm Home,” we place special emphasis on supporting squad leaders, offering dedicated content tailored to the challenges of leading a combat team. Additionally, we work to strengthen the community of squad leaders through dedicated meetings held every few months, where a space for dialogue, sharing, and connection is created – based on the belief that a supportive community directly impacts individual resilience.
The Warm Home initiative was established by the Foundation to support the Unit’s alumni following the events of October 7, 2023, serving as a comprehensive framework for mental health and bureaucratic assistance and as a guiding center for processing combat experiences.
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