2018 End of Year Report 11932-4-h small links | Page 17

Tal is a Police Officer for a Day: While training with ALEH residents for the Jerusalem Marathon,
police officer Adi discovered that 27-year old Tal had always secretly wished that he could
become a police officer. A group of officers arrived at ALEH in the Jerusalem Police
Department’s fully-accessible “Wish Vehicle”. Tal was outfitted in his own police uniform, and he
learned to operate the sirens, communications system, and police scanner. At the police
station, Tal worked with investigators from the forensics lab to decipher a crime scene,
instructed a police dog to locate dangerous substances, and assisted the bomb squad in
disposing of a suspicious object. At the end of his training, the officers held a special ceremony
for Tal, “promoting” him to Chief Superintendent of the station.
>
Growing Life Skills through Gardening: 11th grade students at ALEH’s special education school
in the Negev took part in a special gardening project as part of their “Life Skills Program”,
learning the basics about planting, fertilization, irrigation and harvesting produce, and
monitoring the growth of their vegetables. When harvest time came, the students packaged
and distributed their produce, or used their vegetables to make salads and other healthy dishes.
By integrating life skills training into our special education programming, ALEH is able to
jumpstart personal achievement and prepare the students for independent living. Programs like
these make sure that our residents can successfully integrate within the community.