Businessman Almog Maimon has launched a special volunteer project that will help evacuated northern residents and reservists exercise their rights vis-à-vis the authorities. The project will be centered in Afula and Kiryat Shmona, and residents will have access to services from lawyers, accountants, economists and social workers free of charge.
Against the backdrop of the ceasefire with Hezbollah and the uncertainty regarding the return of evacuees to northern communities, residents who do not know whether they can return to their homes and reservists who have been serving for many days in defense of the state find themselves struggling with authorities who do not always provide the appropriate response.
The social workers will help residents returning to their homes after more than a year to cope with the changes, and reservists suffering from the psychological effects of the prolonged fighting to receive appropriate tools.
Almog Maimon
This is a project that will operate in two central centers in the north of the country – Kiryat Shmona and Afula. The centers will operate free of charge and without a profit motive, out of a mission and concern for the public good. Services from lawyers, accountants, economists and social workers will be available to residents.
The social workers will help residents returning to their homes after more than a year to cope with the changes and reservists who suffer from the psychological effects of the prolonged fighting to receive appropriate tools. They will also help these populations check their rights in the field of welfare.
The lawyers will assist residents with the legal aspect, for example, those whose homes have been damaged or those who have to deal with the large property tax payments. The economists and accountants will assist business owners who want to reopen their businesses through personal guidance and building a business plan for proper management and business recovery, including checking for eligibility for state-guaranteed loans and financial grants.
Almog Maimon is a businessman who previously worked in the accounting field, and decided to establish the venture in order to assist residents in areas adjacent to the fence, who do not seem to receive a satisfactory response from the authorities and are somewhat pushed aside.
Business owners in the north have faced a difficult year, most of whom were forced to close their businesses, and Maimon is interested in helping and encouraging renewed business growth and providing them with the full response and framework so that they can return to work in the best possible way.
Almog Maimon grew up in the north, and he sees it as a personal duty to help and restore the area. The project was conducted in collaboration with the law firm of Yariv Vaknin, located in Afula, and with social worker Amit Sabag, who previously studied at Tel Hai College.
