We spoke with Jacob and Drora Gopas, the managers of Yad Sarah’s Beersheva branch. Learn about the new approaches they are taking to lead the branch.
YS: BEFORE BECOMING BRANCH MANAGERS, DID YOU HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE ABOUT YAD SARAH?
DRORA: Yes, we have used Yad Sarah’s services to provide for our family's youngest and oldest members. Four of our beautiful grandchildren were born in Beersheva, and when each was born, we borrowed cribs and breast pumps to help our children care for their newborns. As for the oldest members of our family – when my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, we moved her out to Beersheva and got her place near Jacob and me. Yad Sarah helped us outfit my mother’s home with everything she needed to live comfortably – a wheelchair, a chair for her shower, a hospital bed, and so much more. Up to the very last day of her life, she was using equipment from Yad Sarah.
YS: WHAT MAKES YAD SARAH’S BEERSHEVA BRANCH UNIQUE?
JACOB: Beersheva is in the Southern District of Israel, near many Bedouin communities. At our branch, we serve people living in – or visiting – Beersheva and individuals from these nearby communities. We also have many Bedouin volunteers who work alongside our Israeli volunteers.
DRORA: Yad Sarah is not a political organization, so there is no reason for Arab and Israeli volunteers not to work together. In fact, we have seen that Yad Sarah is a great way to bring together volunteers from all different backgrounds.
JACOB: Apart from the types of people we serve, the Beersheva branch provides a wide range of offerings to our clients. For example, we were selected to pilot Yad Sarah’s falling prevention service. In Israel, nearly 1000 elderly individuals fall per day, and elderly people can easily get hurt by a fall. So, in collaborating with the Social Security Organization, the Beersheva branch has helped implement falling prevention measures. This includes sending a volunteer to the patient’s home to see what the individual may need and outfitting the home to avoid falls – installing railings, ensuring that carpets are properly affixed to the floors, and much more. We now have close to 300 families in Beersheva who are using this service and hope to see the program continue to grow.
YS: IN ADDITION TO THE FALLING PREVENTION SERVICE, WHAT OTHER SERVICES DOES THE BEERSHEVA BRANCH PROVIDE?
DRORA: We offer many services at the branch. Our largest department is the equipment rental service, where we maintain a fleet of more than 1000 pieces of equipment – wheelchairs, crutches, oxygen tanks and generators, etc. – that individuals can rent based on their needs. The branch also offers an exhibition center where patients can see the equipment that Yad Sarah offers, equipment repair, legal aid for the elderly, support for caregivers who are attending to ill or elderly loved ones, a day rehabilitation center for those with disabilities, a store for people in need of equipment for longer-term use, outreach programs for the homebound, and the recording of individuals’ life stories.
YS: AS BRANCH MANAGERS, WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES?
JACOB: As a branch manager, there are multiple approaches you can take. One is to make sure that things continue operating smoothly. The other is to continue developing and improving upon services to ensure that clients are pleased with the level of care provided.
DRORA: We chose to go with the latter. While the 250 daily volunteers at the Beersheva branch provide great service and keep things moving smoothly, we want to ensure that things are constantly improving. We work on retaining, recruiting, and training volunteers. Volunteers are the ones working with clients every day, so we must make sure that they always remain patient and professional.
JACOB: We also try to inform the community about Yad Sarah. It is a great, low-cost resource, but not everybody knows about it. We share information about the organization so community members can access the services they need. This includes scheduling tours for doctors, students, and families or speaking with individuals about the many services that the Beersheva branch provides.
YS: SPEAKING OF VOLUNTEERS, HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT VOLUNTEERS ARE HAPPY AND ENGAGED WITH THEIR WORK?
JACOB: Keeping volunteers happy is very important to Drora and me. If volunteers are not knowledgeable about their work, they will not be able to provide the highest quality service to our patients.
DRORA: To educate volunteers and keep them engaged, we have organized a lecture series in which various professionals come to the branch and teach volunteers about their field. For example, we recently had a lawyer come in and teach volunteers about making a will. This is interesting for volunteers as individuals and helpful in informing their work at Yad Sarah.
JACOB: We also try to create a community through activities and field trips. Our volunteers care about their work and the people they work with. By organizing activities, we give volunteers an opportunity to socialize outside of their regular hours and get to know each other better. This creates a greater sense of community and appreciation – ultimately improving work quality.
YS: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING THE MANAGER OF YAD SARAH’S BEERSHEVA BRANCH?
DRORA: I love how much our volunteers care about helping others. There is no problem too big or small for Yad Sarah. For example, a woman came to the branch during Sukkot when many of our volunteers were off. Her in-home aide was not available, and she needed a lift to help move her husband, who has Parkinson’s. Volunteers quickly mobilized to find the right lift and figure out how to work it. Volunteers from different departments within Yad Sarah worked together to bring the equipment to the woman’s home and help her move her husband back to his bed.
The volunteers easily could have told the woman that the branch was short-staffed and that she would need to wait until after the holiday. But they care about providing quality service to every person who walks through Yad Sarah's doors.
In the end, the woman was very appreciative of Yad Sarah for the time and effort the volunteers put into making sure she had the support she needed.
