Mother of man with dual diagnosis demands seamless care after repeated gaps in treatment

Esther, 69, says she has spent years fighting for her 35-year-old son Ofir, who has been living with schizoaffective disorder and drug addiction, a condition known as dual diagnosis. She says the state system keeps pushing him from one setting to another and leaving him, and his family, without a stable solution.

Ofir has been recognized since 2018 as having 100% psychiatric disability. Professionals determined that the best treatment for him is a “Door to Door” model, a continuous rehabilitation path without disruptive stops. Esther says that after he left the locked psychiatric ward at Abarbanel Hospital, no follow-up placement was found, so she paid a private facility to keep him off the street.

Later, after he entered sheltered housing in the community, the staff could not or would not handle the complications that arose, and he was removed from that program too. Esther again paid thousands of shekels a month for private housing. She says the system talks about continuity of care, but in practice creates repeated interruptions that damage recovery. She also says officials repeatedly deny her information, telling her it is “his matter” or “secret,” even though she is the main caregiver.

Esther spoke on Tuesday at a Knesset conference titled “Dual Recovery,” initiated by MK Michal Woldiger, chair of the parliamentary lobby for mental health, together with the Families for Mental Health Association. Ministers, lawmakers and singer Idan Botner attended. Esther called for a new “kibbutz model,” one holistic framework for dual diagnosis from hospitalization through community reintegration. Woldiger said Esther’s case shows the system “tears the patient in two” and that the state must take responsibility so no mother has to wonder who will care for her child “the day after.”