Mor Shaal has returned to live in Haifa and is working to expand the activities of the association for the streets

(haipo) - Mor Shael, back to live in Haifa, some are already following her on social networks. She became famous mainly on websites when she started documenting street dwellers in Tel Aviv. Three years ago, she founded an association whose goal is to return the street dwellers to a normal life.

Mor Shael - a street artist

Mor was born in Haifa and moved to Tel Aviv at the age of 30 to succeed as an artist. A good girl from Carmel who moved to the big city. She graduated from photography studies at Vizzo Haifa and wanted the art not only to appear in galleries or museums. She started as a street artist who does a lot of provocation because she wanted her art to make an impact. Moore wanted the art to make people go out of their comfort zone, create an emotion: anger or joy, the main thing is that they don't continue with a normal routine. This is what the project against the shadow did in 2016, as part of the Purim project then called "Get me out of the country".

Moore's background

I chatted with Moore and asked her about her background. This is how she said: "I was born in May 1986 to Irit Vyoram. I am the eldest daughter of three sisters. I was a bit of an introvert, and my parents recognized this at a very young age. That's why they decided to buy me a camera (an elephant camera, not a digital one). From the moment I received her I fell in love with her, because she gave me confidence. I would hide behind her, and it gave me a sense of meaning and value.

I was constantly taking pictures of everyone, and I was the school's photographer. I learned to build a small website where I arranged the photos by date. In the time before social networks, I was a kind of pioneer in the field of photography.'

Moore talks about her education - a photographer who studied at Wizo Haifa: "When this hobby turned into a profession, I enrolled in photography studies at Wizo in Haifa. There I began to photograph myself, and to explore questions such as what is a man, what is a woman, what is sexuality, and what is my role. I started photographing my family and interviewing them, and this documentation became a significant part of my work.

During my studies I started taking videos and interviewing my family. I set up the camera and instructed them to speak honestly. We discussed serious issues, and it was part of a process of personal development and expression. Using the camera I came out of the closet in front of my parents.'

"Crisionary girl"

When I was a child, my parents called me a "crisisioner" because I would burst out and immediately go into a state of silence. I felt like I didn't belong, even among my friends. They were into fashion and make-up, and I wasn't into that. All I was interested in was computers, editing software and building websites. I wasn't connected to the family either, and I would spend a lot of time alone in my room.'

Longing for Haifa

While living in Tel Aviv, Moore identified as a lesbian and believed she wanted to be with women. Today she has returned to believing in a relationship with a man. During her relationships with women, she did not connect with having to take male roles and initiate.

She never felt a real connection to the lesbian community. Today she is already 38 years old and sometimes feels like a lone wolf. The years in Tel Aviv did her no good mentally, and the energy in the city was hard for her. Her family lives in Carmel, and she moved to live in the lower city of Haifa, where she is also involved in activities within her association for street dwellers.

street dwellers

Moore met the street dwellers when she lived in a small one-room apartment on the first floor on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv, during the Corona closures. At a time when most people were locked in their houses, the streets were empty of cars and it was quiet, the street dwellers continued to wander, hungry and sometimes in crisis situations - shouting. Moore started talking to them, and they opened their world to her. They told her their story, and she became attached to them.

Moore talks about her connection to street dwellers: "I always felt a resemblance to them, because I too was at a time when I felt homeless and cut off. I was interested in their situation because I felt that I was part of them, even if I had a house. My process with the street dwellers also concerns my sexuality. I developed rapport with men who are street dwellers, because they did not threaten me and I could open up to them. I feel that this is a path that suited me, made me overcome fears and seek real intimacy.

I had concerns at first when I went out on the street, especially in relation to the myths and stories I know about the street dwellers. Over time, my fear dissipated as I realized that they were just ordinary people with needs like everyone else. Communication with them was more positive than I thought, and I could see their humanity.'

Moore clearly sees the path that the street dwellers take: It begins with loss of hope and helplessness, and deteriorates within a few months or several years to life on the street. This situation leads many of them to use hard drugs, which are now more available than food.

This is how she says: "In the past, those who wanted to get drugs had to travel secretly to Lod and hide, but today there is an open trade in certain streets in Tel Aviv, mainly in the south of the city. The use of drugs leads the street dwellers to theft, selling their bodies, collecting alms and losing their property, including their mobile phones, not to mention their dignity being trampled on.'

In many cases the street dwellers become my best friends

"In many cases, the street dwellers become my closest friends. As soon as they fall, I fall with them, and when they return to the street I feel guilty. Most of the street dwellers reach their condition as a result of untreated mental problems. These are deep mental pains that can lead to drug addiction. Rehabilitation is a difficult process, especially when there is not enough support, and it is a big challenge both physically and mentally.

To help the street dwellers, one has to see oneself in their situation. When he manages to understand their pain and feel the experience, he can be a true friend and help them. They need non-judgmental support, to feel a sense of belonging and to experience closeness with others.

Our society, especially in Israel, is complex. This is a broad issue that involves many social and cultural aspects, and I think we have a lot to improve in order to understand and deal with the problems of street dwellers in an optimal way.'

Mor Sheal shares:

A street dweller is in a parallel world to us in a world that is a loop of drugs and hi
survivals When you sit with him, talk to them, eat with him, he goes out of the loop even for a few minutes.

The more people do it, the more a street dweller will have the option of a normative time. It revives the soul and brings a desire to recover. When the street dwellers are alone, they sink into resentment, sadness, anger. They constantly need to be picked up.

There is no real response from the authorities to rehabilitate street dwellers

Today, the law in Israel allows a homeless person to be on the street and therefore his situation is immortalized. The situation only changes if he steals a large amount and with a high frequency. So it is banned. In most cases the authorities tend to ignore his existence and his crimes.

Mor Sheal knows how to act: she intends to try to eradicate the phenomenon. She has far-reaching plans regarding the goals of her association:

• Housing first - Every street dweller has a unique personality, so a personal rehabilitation plan must be tailored to him. The first step is to restore his basic humanity and dignity: a private residence, food on a plate with a knife and fork, a shower and a comfortable bed. He must be given these basic conditions, so that he can begin the rehabilitation process. In this framework, she intends to open a rehabilitation hotel where medical, psychological and dental treatments will be provided. In addition, closed-circuit cameras can be integrated in the "Big Brother" style, so that the tenants receive self-reflection and feedback on their situation, alongside occupational therapy and professional support.
• Personal accompaniment - Moore believes that personal support is the key to the successful rehabilitation of street dwellers. She believes that sometimes it is necessary to force the rehabilitation process on them, with the aim of rekindling the inner flame and desire for life.
• find suitable frames - Mor works to find suitable frameworks for the rehabilitated and helps them become ambassadors. She holds lectures for teenagers all over the country, and often takes the rehabilitators with her. During the lectures, they share how the experience of drug use has negatively affected their lives. The youth may have seen street dwellers in the past, but for the most part have not heard their story up close. Zohar and Pavel are examples of rehabilitators who are already doing it successfully..

Raising resources for the association

Moore took another significant step recently, when the association she is establishing received approval for Section 46, which allows her to receive donations recognized for tax purposes. The approval, which was given about two months ago, after two years of activity, is an important leap forward, as it opens the door to raising wider resources for the association's activities.

Mor works vigorously to raise resources for the association, and her move to Haifa is part of the vision of change she is leading. It aims to collaborate with residents and local organizations to advance its goals. The association, whose activities are spread all over the country, bears the name of Sergeant Rif whose memory has been blessed, a hero who fought and protected us in Gaza. Rif was close to the hearts of the street dwellers, he used to sit and eat with them, talk with them and take care of them.

plans

Moore is a true multitasker: she engages in fundraising, holds meetings, shoots and directs video, edits graphic content, and manages all her communications: about 250 messages a day that come from all possible means of communication: WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and emails. In addition, she walks the streets to locate street dwellers, accompanies them personally, and finds solutions for some of them.

Moore knows heartbreaking cases, such as families that fell apart due to the addiction of one of the family members, and even a tragic case where the mother of a street tenant ended her life.

To promote the association's goals, Moore needs a professional team that will include an association manager, a part-time social worker, a lawyer, a secretary and an office. To fulfill her vision, she needs a budget of 2 million NIS a year. Today, she has to make do with a budget of only 250 thousand NIS, while an average association needs about 3 million NIS a year to operate effectively.

More that:

Everyone on the street doesn't want to be there!
Everyone wants a house, wants privacy, a shower, food, friends, meaningful work. To be on the street is to be an animal. Even the street cats are getting more help.
Alone, on his own, the street dweller is unable to help himself.

Successes

Moore can point to proven success in her work. Out of the hundreds of street dwellers she met, she managed to remove 12 of them from the street during her four years of activity. Four of them she accompanied personally and closely, "hand in hand". Two of them even got married and started families.

Beyond that, Moore also sees the social change she led as a success. Today, street dwellers are no longer relegated to the margins of society as they were in the past. Some have become well-known, some people ask to take selfies with them and invite them to meals. People are starting to listen to their stories.

Moore emphasizes that to help a homeless person, it is better to avoid giving cash. Instead, it is better to offer actual help such as ordering food or drinks. The assistance Moore offers is varied and adapted to the personal needs of everyone. For example, there is a street dweller named Matthias who wants to study music, and Moore tries to find a suitable setting for him to realize his ambition.

Disappointments

The struggle for the restoration of Der Rehov in Palmer Gate

After years of working with the street dwellers in Tel Aviv, Mor moved to Haifa and began helping a street dweller named B. at Palmer Gate. She tried to help him for four months. B entered her heart after she realized that he was going through a severe trauma following the death of his wife and daughter in the attack. Moore claims that his rehabilitation effort was unsuccessful because she did not have a support team; She was actually the only staff in the association.

She failed to accompany him sufficiently. In the end, he gave up everything and returned to the street. Moore realized that when the street dwellers are left alone, they sink into frustration, sadness and anger. They need ongoing support to lift them up. Thus she came to the conclusion that she needed a team to succeed in her rehabilitation efforts.

the conflict with the Palestinians

When it came to the demonstrations of pro-Palestinian Arabs in recent months in the German colony. She tried to talk to the protesters and received unsympathetic responses.

In response to the criticism she said:

It bothers me that they shout at these demonstrations:
"We redeemed Palestine with blood and fire" they sympathize with the Gazans - and the Gazans in general perceive these Arabs as traitors. The height of hypocrisy.
The Israeli Arabs make a living here, study here, enjoy affirmative action and then shout: "Redeemed Palestine"? Who do they work for? Gazans hate them.

Mor was particularly hurt by members of the Kabbir neighborhood where she grew up, who turned their backs on her during the crisis after October 7. She tells about a good friend she had, Bilal, who studied photography with her at Vizzo Haifa and now lives in New York. From there, he denied the reports of rape, called Israel an apartheid state and spread the opinion that we are liars.

When we talked, Moore told us about her motivations: "What drives me is a desire to justify my existence in the world. I feel like I need to give something back to the universe for being here. I need to find meaning in every day. This led me to look for my spiritual fulfillment in all kinds of ways - lots of work, money, and more. Although I went through many periods in which I searched for satisfaction, today I feel that my goal is to be a mother, and to find another meaning in my life.'

personally

Mor Sheal I met is a small woman but full of energy, which she invests with all her strength, sometimes at a social cost. She describes herself as a "party crasher," because while others her age are talking about gyms or their personal lives, she focuses on hard-to-digest topics. Even she admits that her occupations have damaged her joy in life.

When I asked her how her parents accept her path, she replied that they fully support her. They see that she has found meaning in her life. In the past she had difficult times, when she did not feel that life had any meaning. Working with the street dwellers opened her heart and gave her purpose and meaning.

Her parents wish her a good job, family and children, and I join in their wishes and wish Moore great success in her journey. Welcome back to Haifa, well done!

I suggest that those interested in helping her follow her on social networks or contact the association's WhatsApp 0548982774 OLAMINU.COM