Not just books

Sipur Hozer (a Returning Story) is a used bookstore located in Ashkelon. There's nothing particularly special about it: books are shelved alphabetically from top to bottom, sometimes crowded into double rows, catalogued according to subject. There are books for all ages, including several stacks of books in English. The store has a kiddie table and chairs with drawing paper and crayons for kids to keep busy while their parents look around, a WiFi area and a very helpful staff eager to be of assistance. So, what's the big deal? Well, it is a “big deal” (pun intended, after all, it is a used bookstore with very popular prices… books cost NIS 20 each, NIS 15 if you bring them your books) because Sipur Hozer, is not just a bookshop, but also a vocational rehabilitation center in disguise. The staff, both in the front of the house and back, all work in various positions and all are dealing with mental health challenges. Sipur Hozer is a stepping stone to their successful entry or reentry into the work force. Sipur Hozer is the brainchild of Irad Eichler, founder and chairman of Shekulo Tov, a non-profit organization founded in 2005. Its aim is to help people with psychiatric challenges integrate into the community and become contributing members of society, holding down jobs that will give them the ability and option to live independently. This is done by giving them the chance to learn and practice job skills and then helping them find and keep employment. To reach these goals, interesting and modern vocational employment training opportunities were needed – and so Sipur Hozer was born. Backed and supported financially by the Health Ministry and the National Insurance Institute, the Ashkelon store is one of 12 shops across the country, including a store in Acre with Arabic books and a religious bookshop in Mea She'arim. There are also 500 book points located in cafes, train stations, community centers, gyms and large companies across the country. All of the books stocked at these outlets are managed by people connected to the project who also run the country's largest used book online shop – https://rebooks.org.il/ (English books soon to be available). This gives them even more opportunities to sharpen and hone their work skills. Back in the shops, a wide range of employment skills are learned and developed. They include dealing with customers, working the checkout register, shift managers, technical training, computer training, managing Internet orders and cataloguing. Positions are rotated, so everyone gets a chance to work in different jobs. Maintaining the store's neat and clean appearance is another task for which they are all responsible. As for getting to work, since bus service to the Ashkelon store, on Rehavam Ze'evi Street in a new shopping area in Barnea Bet, is still not the best, there is transportation for the staff from the central bus station if necessary. To be accepted to the program, a perspective candidate must get a referral from the Health Ministry and pass an interview. There is no limit to length of training in the store, but trainees are encouraged to join the regular workforce as soon as they see fit, while still receiving support from an employment specialist. This includes help in writing a CV and job interview preparation. Even after they get a job, they are still helped out by getting support in dealing with problems that may occur at work as part of the belief that continuing support is the key to successful rehabilitation. Sipur Hozer has two stores in Jerusalem, one for the general population and one specifically for religious readers. The older of the two shops, for the general public, was opened in 2013 and is located in the city center at 4 Shmuel Hanagid Street. It is actively connected to business in the area and is frequented by book enthusiasts from all over the city, including a large number of students. The store, which has been recently renovated, is on the former site of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda's historical print shop out of which he printed his newspaper, Hazvi. The 40 lending stalls of Sipur Hozer, as are the book stores, are manned by staff. The second Jerusalem shop is in the heart of Mea She'arim and opened early this year. The store's staff of 25 oversees the sale of religious books, used and new, all at the same popular Sipur Hozer price. The Ashkelon shop is managed by Miriam Fuks, a former Londoner who has been in the country for 13 years and is a specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation. “Any way you look at it, Sipur Hozer is a win-winwin-win situation: those coping with mental illnesses are given a protective training environment through which they can readjust to the job market, customers can choose from a wide variety of good books at competitive prices, books are recycled in our ever-more-wasteful society, and the job market has an influx of intelligent, wonderful people who might otherwise not have the courage to go back to work.” Sammy (all names used are fictitious), has been in the Ashkelon store for nearly four months. After completing his army service, he went to the US and worked there for two years until, not feeling well, he returned home, where he was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. He stayed in his Ashdod bedroom for 11 years until he finally went for private treatment to a psychiatrist in Tel Aviv.

Not just books

To reach these goals, interesting and modern vocational employment training opportunities were needed – and so Sipur Hozer was born.

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