Over the past 7 years the Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin has built an extensive support network of former lone soldiers, developed relevant and vibrant social events, and brought the plight of lone soldiers to the forefront of the Jewish people’s conciseness.

“Thru years of dedication and hard work in the field have enabled the center to find solutions to the pressing needs of most of the lone soldiers. One of the many hardships they must deal with are housing. While there already exists a number of solutions; such as Garin Tzabar, and Beit Benji, none one of them offer the intimate yet communal solutions of the new Lone Soldier Home in Jerusalem”, officials at the center explain.

Until now Lone Soldiers who wanted to live in Jerusalem and be part of vibrant community had to find roommates and apartments by themselves and hope the community would notice and welcome them in but now, the LSC is revolutionizing the way these lone soldiers and communities interact. As an organization they have taken a home and seen to all the physical needs while having an adviser in residence to be like an older brother and act as the connection to the community. The center has partnered with the community both on the rabbinic and lay leadership levels towards making the new physical accommodations for these soldiers truly their home in Israel while serving in the IDF.

This first house in this new innovative program is located in Jerusalem’s Mekor Chaim neighborhood, where the center partnered with Rav Unsbacher and Yeshivat Makor Chaim. A chanukas habayis was held last week, at which time mezuzos were affixed to the doorposts. It is added there were mezuzos which the sofer checking felt were less than ‘l’chatchila’ so the center had them removed and replaced with new ones, not wishing to compromise on such an important aspect of this new home for the soldiers who left families behind to come and serve.

One official added “Being that we are in Adar I, we hope to bring more joy and happiness to the world by the continued success of the lone soldiers serving in the IDF”.

The videos show the new tenants, the religious lone soldiers who are moving into what will be their new home in Eretz Yisrael.

One of the major advantages of this program is the soldiers deal with the organization, not a landlord. Too often they are not paid in a timely fashion and they are faced with threats of eviction as landlords are often impatient. The center is acting as the go-between to remove all of the financial stress from the young men as well as seeing to it their home is physically and spiritually what it should be. The center will also deal with repairs and other issues, once again permitting the soldiers to concentrate on their military service and not have to use their limited down time to run errands and worry about their home.

Another such home, exclusively for shomer Shabbos lone soldiers, is being completed in Beit Shemesh by the center. The center feels strongly that a religious lone soldier’s lifestyle mustn’t be compromised and it offers exclusively religious living arrangements for those interested in such an arrangement.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)