Support The 8 Project’s Therapeutic Residency Program

In the aftermath of the war, many Israeli soldiers and reservists are returning to civilian life while Israel’s mental health and rehabilitation systems are operating at full capacity. Long waitlists and limited resources make it difficult to provide sustained, individualized support during the critical transition period after service.

The 8 Project was created to help address this gap.

We run our therapeutic residency program in the United States to give participants physical and emotional distance from daily pressures, constant reminders, and ongoing instability. This change of environment allows soldiers to step out of survival mode and focus fully on healing, rebuilding structure, and moving forward.

At the core of the residency is structured, guided creative work. Through artmaking, participants are given a constructive, non-verbal way to process experience, regain agency, and reconnect with themselves beyond military identity. Art is used not to revisit trauma, but to transform lived experience into something meaningful and forward-looking.

The residency is led by artist Tomer Peretz, who brings his own lived experience of coping with PTSD into the program as a mentor. Tomer works closely with participants throughout the residency, offering guidance, structure, and support grounded in shared understanding. His role is not clinical, but experiential - helping residents navigate the process with honesty, discipline, and forward momentum.

The program provides a consistent daily routine that combines creative work, structure, and community, and is supported throughout by licensed therapists. The residency is therapeutic in nature, non-clinical, and focused on stability, growth, and rebuilding a sense of direction and purpose.

Where Your Support Goes

All residency participants are fully funded so they can focus entirely on the process. Donations support:

• Housing and living expenses during the residency

• Studio access and art materials

• Licensed therapeutic support throughout the program

• Program facilitation, structure, and daily coordination

• Transportation and basic needs

• Community engagement and related program activities

Every contribution helps ensure that soldiers are not left to navigate this transition alone, and that they receive meaningful, structured, and creative support at a time when existing systems are overwhelmed.