Newsletter no.2 - Fall 2022

Welcome to Comeback’s second Newsletter.

In our eyes, a person who has paid his debt to society and fails to be absorbed into the community represents a lost life. His family is paying a price, our society is paying a price. Our role is to reach out to them and prove that the cycle of crime can be broken, for safer streets and a healthier society.

Their comeback benefits all of us!

As Rosh Hashana has just passed, we devote this issue to telling you about a few of the many lives that Comeback, with your support, has been able to improve during the past year. In this way, you can get to know a few of our participants. You can learn about their stumbling blocks, applaud their stamina to persevere, and become acquainted with a few of our dedicated coaches.

It is estimated that 75% of released prisoners are unemployed. At Comeback, our primary task is to give them the tools to find and maintain a job. The ability to support themselves is the first step. To reach this level of stability, we offer our participants several key services. Besides providing individual coaching, we help them pay off their debts. In so doing, they can open a bank account and thereby start to earn a living.

The people we have assisted are entire worlds unto themselves, and their rehabilitation impacts many people in their sphere – their children, family, community, and society at large. When a former felon is on a path of growth and fulfillment, everyone benefits. Crime is diminished, government money is saved, and justice is strengthened.

Thank you for your support, trust, and commitment. Thank you for helping us help them, thereby making our streets a little safer for us all.

Wishing you a healthy, inspiring, and fulfilling New Year. Shana tova!

Team Comeback

Personal perspectives

SHIMON

Sarah, a Comeback personal coach, talks about Shimon:

"I met Shimon at a very low point in his life. He was NIS 250,000 in debt and had no money for food for himself and his children. He had to ask his mother for money. He felt like failure. He felt that was destroying instead of building.

In our first session, Shimon talked about his dream of leading workshops in reverse therapy, but he could not see how to turn that into a reality. I realized that in order for him to move forward, he first had to discard sense of self-doubt.

If we understand that every belief creates a reality, then changing the belief will change the reality. Shimon and I did mindfulness and reality creation exercises. We sought ways to prove that he could create abundance in his life.

There was a double track training here: On the one hand, we had to ensure that he would have a regular income. On the other, we had to encourage his dream of becoming a reverse therapist.

Shimon is a skilled handyman. He started working at a factory. As time went on, his boss recognized his creativity in finding solutions and gave him added responsibilities. At the same time, Shimon started posting ads about his availability as a handyman. And people started calling. As his income increased, together with his day job, he was able to prove to himself that he could generate a good income. Three months into our training process, Shimon was earning over NIS 15,000 a month.

The next step was to encourage his dream by advertising his therapy workshops with his partner. The workshops were filling up, and he received positive feedback on them. At the end of our coaching process, Shimon left with an annual business plan, which included specific goals, and an understanding that he could trust himself.”

At the end of the process, Shimon wrote the following to Sarah:

"Sarah,

For many years I was "stuck" in matters of livelihood. Even when luck arose, I felt that it would end too quickly, and I’d return to being unlucky again. I started to believe that I was “cursed" and that I couldn’t hold on to money. My financial situation was terrible. I ended up having no income and no means to put food on the table.

One day, I received an offer to meet with a female coach. I agreed. Not because I believed it would help. I simply had nothing to lose.

Already in the first conversation, something happened. My self-doubts surfaced, and you were able to identify them and help me dismantle them. Suddenly, I had the desire to shake off my poor reality and start generating abundance.

You asked me to imagine how much money I wanted to earn in my wildest dreams. I threw out a number and started to laugh. It was an unthinkable amount, certainly for me.

Within three months, I actually reached that abundance and produced the imagined number. I don't know what to say and how. I don't even know if I heard new things that I didn't know. Something just worked. I don't think there is anything that is equivalent to the gift I received with your help. Anyone who saves one soul is as if he saved a whole world Thank you, thank you, and thank you again.

Shimon."

TOMER

Although he wanted to change, Tomer couldn’t figure out how to do it. This made him resistant and angry. He came to Comeback for coaching sessions but didn't quite understand what role Comeback played within all the obligations he had in regard to the Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority. He didn’t understand that he had to make a move, but at first he was mostly “NOT.” Not focused. Not up to the task. Not knowing what to wan. Not taking responsibility over the process.

Then, after several sessions where the participants sat in circles, his coach Miki told him it was impossible to continue that way. That was the moment of transformation. This is what Tomer shared:

“I came to the coaching sessions tired and fed up with the staff asking me questions. Then the Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority offered me a training session. First, I thought Miki was part of the Authority. But during the sessions, I got to know her and realized that she was actually a volunteer at Comeback, an organization that helps former felons reintegrate into society. I felt that she genuinely cared about my problems. I was sold.

At that point, I was fed up with the way my life was going. My children were my motivation, and my actions reflected on them. I knew my strengths but was unable to bring them to light. It made me angry and frustrated, and I felt paralyzed. I realized I was at a crossroads, and here was someone I could trust as I made the change.

Miki made me understand that I was my own savior. She said she could give me tools and would be there for me whenever I needed. It gave me the courage to start on a new path. When I realized that the ball was in my court, I started to take responsibility for the process.

From our conversations, I realized that what I wanted to focus on was construction management at Hefer College. I have a lot of experience in construction, and this would allow me to develop my skills. I could lead a lifestyle that offered financial well-being. If you have financial security, there is room for you to express other sides, to be in a place that is more than just survival, and the frustration levels decrease.

Those coaching sessions were dedicated to my personal development. A true blessing, I told Miki that in a year or two, after I settled down, I had no doubt that I would turn to her for the next step."

MUHAMMAD

After 13 years of incarceration, Muhammad came out of prison into a world that had changed in many ways. A world that runs via smartphones, new social codes, and the challenge of independence that required him to start taking responsibility for his life.

He felt confused and was overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness. He felt the distance between who he was and what society expected him to be. And he was wracked with guilt about the crime he had committed.

He met with his Comeback coach, Rasha. In the first session, Muhammad said that his goal was to have a higher salary. Rasha realized that what Muhammad needed in order to reach the potential she saw in him was to raise his self-confidence.

At the third session, after Muhammad wondered what the benefit of training was after all, Rasha suggested that he think about how he could use the sessions as a gift for life. Those words resonated in him and produced a fundamental change in the process. From that moment on, Muhammad took responsibility and allowed himself an in-depth investigation. The process of their joint work created a safe and open space in which Muhammad identified his values, his fears and solutions to the various situations he encountered in his daily life. He found strength and inspiration.

He learned to understand that the main obstacles in his life were those that he put in front of himself. The connection to his values helped him to make decisions. The more he learned to know himself better, the more his self-confidence increased. He learned to ask for what he wanted. The process made him feel visible within himself and to his surroundings.

At the beginning of the coaching process, Muhammad worked as a shelf-setter in a supermarket. He liked the workplace but felt there was nowhere to advance in terms of salary. As his self-confidence and optimism grew stronger, so did the changes in the workplace. He was promoted to department manager. Then he was given a car. And now he has received an offer to become the manager and partner of a new branch that is about to be opened.

These are Muhammad's words to his coach:

“Much more than what I take from a sessions itself is what I take from the process as a whole. I start with clutter in my head every time, and at the end of the session I land on the ground because I manage to let go. My hope for a better future grows every time we meet."

ERAN

Eran, 38, is divorced, with four children (one biological child and three children of his ex-wife whom he adopted). He is a man full of abilities and talent. He was an excellent student in school, and an exemplary soldier and officer in the army. Until he was arrested in 2020. Eran owned an electrical company for eight years.

Last June, after he completed a two-year jail sentence, he was released from prison with nothing. His wife divorced him during his imprisonment and was already in a new relationship. He lost contact with the children, and his mother died while he was in prison. He was homeless and was hundreds of thousands of shekels in debt; therefore, there was a lien on his bank account.

Aran, Central Regional Manager Restart:

I met Eran for the first time in the Dekel prison, where we often go to get to know the inmates who are about to be released and tell them about the possibility of contacting Comeback. Eran gladly took our offer. He was released on the morning of June 7. At noon that day, he already picked up the phone. We arranged to meet the next day at a cafe in Ashkelon, where he was staying with a friend.

At that meeting, we opened the computer and tried to understand his situation. Eran realized that the only way to put the past behind him was to handle the debt issue so he could find a job that suited him. When we parted at the end of the meeting with a plan to apply for an insolvency procedure versus enforcement, I told him that it could be a long and exhausting process but that I would be there with him all the way. We arranged to meet again in two weeks, after he had obtained all the required documents.

After a little less than two weeks, Eran called and announced, ‘That's it. I took care of all the debts. I reached a settlement and paid the first payment. My bank account is no longer foreclosed!’

Anyone who understands the bankruptcy and insolvency procedures knows that it is almost impossible to reach a settlement and remove a lien within a week and a half –and certainly not without the assistance of a lawyer.

That was when I was first exposed to Eran's almost epic ability to learn quickly and move mountains! Even though I found it hard to believe, Eran went to each and every office. He worked day in and day out to put things in order. He managed to reach a judge on duty who signed the insolvency agreement for him. The story is over and done with, which with other cases can take up to five months!

Eran decided to move in with his father – something he never thought of doing when he was first released. Their relationship, which was not very good before, kept getting better.

The next step was to think about a job. We talked a bit on the phone about how to do it and what kind of job would suit him. Surprises never end with Eran. Within two days, he was invited to a job interview and was hired as a warehouse manager at a factory in the Barkan industrial area. There, too, he proved his abilities. He quickly learned the ropes and took responsibility in more and more areas. He worked overtime every day and never missed a day of work. His managers were very impressed with him and offered him training at the company's expense. They showered him with compliments, welcomed him warmly, and painted a significant career horizon for him in the company.

In Eran's story, everything seems too good to be true. For a month and a half, everything went smoothly thanks to his intense motivation. All he needed was one small push from someone who believed in him. For the first time since his release from prison, he brought in a full month's salary -- a respectable amount that could make Eran believe that here he was on the right path, despite everything that happened.

However, in the world of released prisoners, less pleasant surprises often come at some point. One evening, Eran was sitting with a colleague with whom he had formed a strong bond. They talked about life, and Eran told him about his criminal past and his time in prison. It was a moment of confession, an innocent moment of closeness and conversation between friends. And then the crisis it happened.

The "friend" went to the managers and told them what he heard from Eran. The managers took quick and decisive action. They summoned Eran to a hearing and fired him within two days. He was fired in disgrace, regardless of the fact that he was one of the most highly praised and appreciated employees in the place. And all this in just a month and a half. Eran was humiliated and hurt to the depths of his soul. He didn't want to talk to anyone for days. He sat at home and processed the experience, learned the lessons. After a few days, he decided to go out and continue looking for work. He found several places, started and stopped in different places, Once, he tried to tell them about his criminal record in advance. Another time, he told then after a few days. And sometimes he didn’t tell then at all. But somehow, the story always came up.

People like Eran who were exemplary citizens and made a mistake cannot find a job – not because they aren’t talented, qualified or willing. Many employers are afraid to hire ex-prisoners and are not aware of the laws that prohibit referring to a person's criminal past.

An employer may, under certain conditions, ask about the criminal past of a job applicant, and the criminal past can be a relevant consideration, depending on the circumstances.

One who has been convicted of a crime and has paid his debt to society should not be required to disclose his past to any employer, even without being asked. He should not have to carry that "mark of disgrace" for the rest of his life

In the case where the employee was not asked about his criminal history, and after a certain period of work his criminal history was discovered, the use of his history as a weighty consideration for his dismissal is disproportionate and invalid.

Eran still lives with his father, is still not in contact with his children, and is still unemployed. Although he hasn’t given up and continues to look for work, it is sometimes difficult to keep his spirits up. Every day, a little more hope is lost, and it's a little harder to believe that he will find an employer who will give him a real opportunity and get in return the most dedicated, loyal, talented, and responsible employee he could ask for. We still believe that Eran will find exactly the right place for him, and we try to keep his hopes up. It's very touching to see Eran going about the world not giving up, not ready to back down, a man who is a true inspiration, a success story in the making.

DANNY

Aran, Central Regional Manager Restart:

Danny, single, was born in 1971. He lives with his elderly and infirm father, who helps him financially. Danny has a 16-year-old son who lives with his mother. They have a good relationship and see each other frequently.

Throughout his life, Danny has led a carefree lifestyle, He became addicted to drugs, was arrested several times, and was unable to get out of the cycle of drugs and crime. During one of his times in prison, he swore that he had quit drugs on his own and wanted to change his lifestyle. Since then, he has been clean for over seven years, but the traces of his destructive lifestyle have not disappeared. Many of the barriers that have accumulated over the years prevent him from integrating into society as a productive and citizen.

Danny's story with Comeback started five months ago, We accompanied him in the process of settling his debts in order to enable him for the first time in his life to manage a bank account and work legally. The bureaucracy required to settle all debts can be challenging for anyone, but even more so for those who don't even have a smartphone; Those who don’t know that in order to receive any type of service, it is necessary to book an appointment in the application; those who don’t know how to fill out a form or send an email.

Hand in hand, we went through the process. Danny worked vigorously in bringing the necessary documents, arrived on time for all the meetings and appointments, closed one case completely, reached the arrangements on the other cases. and made the first payments in the arrangements, so that in terms of execution, there is no lien on his account. Ilan is currently receiving the funds to pay the debt settlement from his father, a cancer patient in a complex situation himself, whose only dream is to see his son stand on his own two feet.

At this point. we were supposed to start the second phase of the Restart program - a job-finding phase in which Danny will learn the language of the employment world.

Unfortunately, a little over a month ago, Danny received a letter with a notice of immediate payment of a fine from the municipality from 15 years ago, a debt that accrued interest that stands at NIS 5,500. The debt, which seemed to pop up out of nowhere, created a new lien on his bank account and the continuation of the process for Ilan (who is clearly unable to pay that amount at the moment). Our appeals to the municipality to cancel the fine or settle it under lenient terms, were denied.

The frustrating situation where the father pays money but Danny cannot go to work created a lot of tension at home. It eventually led to Ilan’s returning to using drugs.

Of course, this is not the end for us (nor for Danny). We understand the pitfalls that disadvantaged populations may have in such a convoluted way of getting to know a new world. The dragging of the feet of the state institutions takes its toll, but we will be here to help Ilan recover and fulfill his dream -- to be a normal person like everyone else. We expect in the coming weeks that together with Ilan we will be able to settle his last debt and thereby enable him to start working.

The unfolding story of Danny-- a kind-hearted and sensitive guy whose life led him to bad places -- teaches us a lot about the helplessness that people like him feel when confronted with a system that doesn't really understand them. This story teaches us about the importance of a comeback in the lives of our participants, even before they can even start looking for a job.