Thousands of single-parent families in Israel rely on only one source of income, turning each day into a struggle for survival. Many of these families live in extreme housing poverty and face severe sanitary and structural issues—rotting or outdated infrastructure, broken kitchens, exposed and faulty electrical systems, broken plumbing, mold, cracked walls, and missing doors that deprive them of even basic privacy.
These unlivable conditions often lead to feelings of despair, shame, and helplessness. When children are too ashamed to bring friends home, and teenagers seek refuge on the streets, addressing the housing crisis becomes urgent and essential for their well-being and future.
Tenufa Bakehila works to improve housing conditions for single mothers and their children, so they can live in dignity and safety. Renovating their homes and empowering them is both urgent and essential, enabling families to live independently, raise their children in a healthy environment, and secure a better future.
Each year, Tenufa Bakehila assists over 100 single-parent families. Using our unique model of professional renovation paired with dedicated social support, we create safe, functional, and respectful living spaces and significantly improve their quality of life.
Depending on the home’s condition, our professional teams repair broken plumbing and electrical systems, fix or replace windows and walls, install doors, and replace decaying kitchens.
Since our teams work in the most intimate space—the home—they are often exposed to needs that local welfare departments may not be aware of: siblings sharing a single bed, children dropping out of school, or empty refrigerators.
Our in-house social worker helps families access essential support: food, furniture, appliances, after-school programs, parenting and employment guidance, financial counseling, and assistance in exercising their legal rights and reducing debt.
In this way, Tenufa Bakehila offers not just a roof over their heads, but holistic support that empowers single mothers and their children to regain stability, confidence, and independence.
Renovation of a daycare center for children with special needs
Renovation of the home of a widow whose daughter has mental health challenges and lives with her
Renovation of the home of a newly immigrated divorced man without children
Renovation of the home of an elderly man suffering illness and disability
Renovation and painting home of a family with special needs children, damaged by fire
Renovation of a bedroom with a broken and dangerous floor for a disabled woman
Renovation of a house where tree roots penetrated the pipes causing extensive system damage
enovation of a shelter after a fire
Kitchen replacement for an elderly immigrant couple from Ethiopia
Renovation of a shelter flooded up to knee level with sewage water
For four years, a single grandmother and her grandson showered using a hose pulled from the bathroom
Single father with mental health challenges; one of the sons has special needs
Replacement of a solar water heater for an elderly man who had no hot water for 5 years
An elderly man who lived without running water, using a hose from the garden — now finally able to shower with running water.
A yard once infested with dangerous reptiles has been transformed into a safe space for a family with young children
Kitchen renovation for a family of a combat soldier
Renovation of a shower for an elderly couple living without proper conditions
Renovation of a bathroom for a Holocaust survivor
Painting a shower room for a single mother
Bathroom renovation for an elderly adult
Renovation of a Holocaust survivor’s bedroom
