Yaarit Shoshan, owner of a social advertising agency and the SOS ISRAEL organization, has been working to raise awareness about the PTSD phenomenon that is growing, especially after October 7 and the war that followed it. She is currently working on a unique venture called Thank You for Your Service, which aims to train mentors to help in the treatment of post-trauma.
What does the office do?
I established a social-community advertising office with a vision to raise social awareness to promote important community issues through their exposure in the media and up to their legislation in the Knesset, with the aim of creating change for the future generation in Israel. I create viral campaigns for the important projects that I choose, with great exposure in Israel and the world, and recruit public figures, celebrities, and opinion leaders for them. These are not-for-profit social projects and have limited funding sources.
Tell me about the campaigns that received media exposure and legislation.
For PTSD, ‘The Bird of the Soul’ for combat survivors and post-trauma victims is an exhibition presented with the aim of raising awareness about the issue and the case of Itzik Saidian, who set himself on fire. For lone soldiers, the establishment of a coalition and the enactment of a discharged lone soldier law. For violence against women, the campaign Be a Witness to promote raising awareness about violence against women following the case of Shira Isakov. Campaign for the return of the boys, the Goldin family. For protecting the Gaza border region, mass mobilization for the construction of shelters and protection for the residents of the region to establish shelters (outdoor shelters and safe rooms) for residents living on the border and for those who are unable to protect themselves. Celebrating with dignity, we distributed 2,000 Passover meals to needy families in Israel In collaboration with chefs Haim Cohen and Segev Moshe. Live Forever is a project that encourages Holocaust survivors to tell their story to future generations because time is running out and soon there will be no more Holocaust survivors left to tell their story. Children with special needs; stillbirths, and more.
Tell me about the new mentoring project.
We are working on a groundbreaking social enterprise of combat soldiers from the post-trauma community who have enlisted to be mentors for victims of the Swords of Iron war called Thank You for Your Service. After October 7, we realized from our extensive experience that we can give the tools and the most accurate and best answer to reserve soldiers by instructing storytelling as part of treatment. For the first time, PTSD community is mobilizing for the victims of the war. The sessions will be with men and women together. It is clear that the subject of post-trauma is a process for those who have returned from the reserves. The conversation I hear daily is that returning home to their families is not easy. There is no one to talk to and explain what they have been through, so they keep it to themselves. Their way of dealing with it is to talk to someone who understands them. We took a number of people filmed from the exhibition who experienced PTSD. They will face it by writing their story, by lectures they send, in acting and music or by whatever they like the most.
The main thing is to start a conversation from the place they love the most. We took those who suffered from PTSD, and they became the mentors of the war’s victims. The discourse was created with the cooperation of mayors of cities such as Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Ramat Gan. There will be locations where PTSD groups will tell their stories to reservists, and they will have the place to share their own story and confront it whether through writing or with professionals such as psychiatrists and psychologists. Along with this, holistic treatments will be part of the circle. We will give them the place and the options to talk and share.
Among the mentors who will participate in the project are Shir Peled, the first female soldier in the undercover unit of the Border Police, who served in various positions in the Border Police and the IDF, currently a lecturer about her story in Israel and around the world; Yair Shalev, who served in Paratrooper Battalion 101; and Brigade Commander Yarden Ashkenazi, operations officer in the Golani Brigade.
How is PTSD diagnosed?
Post-trauma is transparent; shell shock is often mute. PTSD victims are intelligent and gifted people. They get up in the morning and go to work, run errands, watch TV, and shop like the rest of us. But unlike us, they live in a parallel universe that runs in their head and in their heart. This universe sometimes overshadows the real world. Imagine that you wake up to a sunny morning, and above your head there is a gray and gloomy cloud. For many post-traumatic people, the cloud is the reality.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms that combat veterans suffer from are many, and manifest in different ways that affect their daily functioning. There is a decisive influence on their ability to actively and fully integrate into society and employment. Imagine a situation where you are sitting in the office and suddenly you hear the echoes of explosions and the cries of wounded soldiers. It doesn't exist in reality, but they are heard at a deafening volume in the heads of those with PTSD.
What does the state do?
The state has not yet mastered how to optimally deal with combat casualties. Only 3% of the combatants are recognized by the Ministry of Defense's Rehabilitation Department as combat casualties and receive adequate treatment that enables them to integrate into society and work, despite the recognition of the long-term effects of PTSD. They don’t receive even minimal treatment. Many of them are left out of the loop. In the past, we didn't understand the situation of those who fought, eliminated terrorists, guarded the borders of our country, and gave us a peaceful and safe life but don’t want to ask for help. They received a call to action on the battlefield but refuse to see themselves as needing help. The hero's loneliness is not visible from afar, and his voice is not heard. Most of them look perfectly healthy, but they are scarred and cannot live a normal life.
What are the data?
Research reveals that 16% of all participants in wars and combat events will develop PTSD. Approximately 15% of combat soldiers in Israel suffer from post-trauma following their military service, and the number increases every year. Today, only 3% of the combatants are recognized by the Ministry of Defense's Rehabilitation Department as combat victims and receive recognition of their condition and appropriate treatment.
What does your organization do?
The organization was established to support combat victims, who are the building blocks of Israeli society. We established a social economic organization with the participation of businessmen and women from Israel and the around world, and we created a platform that contributes to raising awareness about combat shock and PTSD and bringing them into the circle of employment in companies in Israel after receiving treatment, rehabilitation, and their return to a balanced life.
The new project is seeking donors to open their hearts to help mobilize our men and women soldiers. The goal is NIS 1 million.
For more information and donation: SOS ISRAEL
This article was written in cooperation with SOS ISRAEL