Eyal Kaplanski Susan's House was established in 2002 as a memorial to Susan Kaplansky who worked to develop an art center as meeting place for youth living on the street.
The program was developed from the ideas of Eyal and Susan Kaplansky. Eyal had visited a model program for the rehabilitation of youth in another part of Israel he believed was worthy of imitation and Susan wanted to create a program that would help youth from the street work with art in creative ways. The program that has been implemented is an artful combination of classical vocational rehabilitation programming that emphasizes the creation of unique products; high quality art pieces that have been crafted with skills learned from the top professionals in their fields. Youth, referred by the Municipality of Jerusalem, or residential programs, are trained in a typical artist's workshop by artists with many years of experience. The crafts skills learned enable the youth to craft and assemble the artistic pieces, as well as to judge the marketability of the final product. The business skills learned enable program participants to craft a business plan and execute it.
The program was developed from the ideas of Eyal and Susan Kaplansky. Eyal had visited a model program for the rehabilitation of youth in another part of Israel he believed was worthy of imitation and Susan wanted to create a program that would help youth from the street work with art in creative ways. The program that has been implemented is an artful combination of classical vocational rehabilitation programming that emphasizes the creation of unique products; high quality art pieces that have been crafted with skills learned from the top professionals in their fields. Youth, referred by the Municipality of Jerusalem, or residential programs, are trained in a typical artist's workshop by artists with many years of experience. The crafts skills learned enable the youth to craft and assemble the artistic pieces, as well as to judge the marketability of the final product. The business skills learned enable program participants to craft a business plan and execute it.
Avital Goel, Director of Susan's HouseI am 41 years old and hold a BA in Business from Jerusalem University and an MA in Business Management from Tel Aviv University.
I served in the army in the paratroopers unit. After the army, I traveled the world, and like many Israelis, I worked for about a year and a half in NY in the moving industry.
After my trip and my studies, I settled in Jerusalem and focused mainly on my favorite hobby - tai chi. I worked as an instructor and as the director of the Israeli center for Tai-chi for a number of years. It is here in Jerusalem that I raised my dear family.
It was then that my good friend Suzan Kaplansky died, and her husband Eyal decided to start Suzan's House. He hired me to run the organization.
I developed a knack for dealing with teenagers after many difficult, yet gratifying years working alongside teenagers, and with the help and guidance of social workers and psychologists from the Israeli social services.
I served in the army in the paratroopers unit. After the army, I traveled the world, and like many Israelis, I worked for about a year and a half in NY in the moving industry.
After my trip and my studies, I settled in Jerusalem and focused mainly on my favorite hobby - tai chi. I worked as an instructor and as the director of the Israeli center for Tai-chi for a number of years. It is here in Jerusalem that I raised my dear family.
It was then that my good friend Suzan Kaplansky died, and her husband Eyal decided to start Suzan's House. He hired me to run the organization.
I developed a knack for dealing with teenagers after many difficult, yet gratifying years working alongside teenagers, and with the help and guidance of social workers and psychologists from the Israeli social services.
