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Financial Assistance for Acquiring Basic Equipment for Community Living

Adi Na'aman, Director of Community Integration Senior Section, the Ministry of Health
21 October 2025

The rehabilitation basket allows individuals with a mental health disability to receive assistance in purchasing basic equipment for an apartment. This assistance is part of the Rehabilitation Basket designed to support rehabilitation. If you have financing difficulties, this service is for you. Following a purchase, the purchased equipment will be your own private property.

What is the financial assistance amount?

Reimbursement in the amount of up to NIS 3,500 for the purchase of equipment such as electrical appliances, furniture, etc. Assistance may be received once every 5 years.

Eligibility criteria

  1. Eligibility for the Rehabilitation Basket: if you are eligible for the Rehabilitation Basket and need financial assistance to purchase basic equipment for living.
  2. Place of residence: in an apartment you own or rent, in a supportive community or in an assisted living residence, provided that no basic living equipment.
  3. Frequency: if you did not exercise your eligibility for this assistance within the past 5 years.

The application submission process and the implementation strategy

In one of the rehabilitation services you are already receiving, you must get in touch with your coordinator on behalf of the rehabilitation basket (the social worker or coordinator of the rehabilitation basket) if you already have an approved basket but are not eligible for assistance in buying basic living equipment. This is the moment to bring up the need for help paying for necessities. The coordinator will direct you to either the Follow-up Committee or the Rehabilitation Basket Board.

Individuals with a mental health disability who are experiencing emotional distress require rehabilitation before they can return to normal function. To make it easier for them and enable them to manage their day-to-day life in an optimal and pleasant way, a rehabilitation basket allows individuals with a mental health disability to receive assistance in purchasing basic equipment for the apartment. This assistance is part of the Rehabilitation Basket, designed to support recovery in addition to rehabilitation. The basket includes an array of services and is part of the “Rehabilitation in the Community of Persons with Mental Disabilities Law“ (Hebrew). The basket is a kind of "crutch" for you, on which you can support yourself and gradually, in small steps, undergo rehabilitation until you can live the full life you were living prior to the mental health crisis.

Assistance for regaining optimal function

It usually takes time, even years, until individuals with mental health disability begin the rehabilitation process and reach the point where they are fully functional, if at all. During this time, these individuals, in many cases, depend on the disability allowance and, because of their mental state, are unable to work or can work only a limited number of hours, resulting in low wages. If you are in one of these situations and, as a result, have difficulty financing the purchase of equipment for a residential apartment, an assistance service in the purchase of basic residential equipment is designed for you. Important to know: this assistance is provided to individuals with a mental health disability who live in an apartment in the community.

What does the financial assistance include

Financial reimbursement of up to ₪3,500 is available for purchasing items from the following list:

  • Furniture: bed, mattress, wardrobe, dining table, sofa, bookshelf, chair.
  • Appliances: hotplate, oven, refrigerator, microwave, stovetop, washing machine, TV, portable air conditioner, fan, heater.

Assistance for purchasing a computer or monitor

Under certain conditions, financial assistance of up to ₪2,000 is available for purchasing a computer or monitor (or both together). This amount is deducted from the total ₪3,500, so the overall assistance cannot exceed ₪3,500. This support is intended for individuals with mental health needs who require a computer as part of their rehabilitation program. Eligibility applies under the following conditions:

  1. Applicants who requested assistance from the National Insurance Institute’s Rehabilitation Department and were denied.
  2. Those living in supported housing where a computer or monitor is not provided.
  3. Applicants who have not used the ₪3,500 assistance in the past five years.

Requests for computer or monitor assistance are reviewed toward the end of the year, separately from requests for other items. Approval is subject to budget availability to fund all requests submitted that year.

Qualification for financial aid for the acquisition of living equipment

Assistance in purchasing basic living equipment is designed for individuals with a mental health disability who satisfy the following criteria:

People eligible for the rehabilitation basket

People  who are eligible for a rehabilitation basket use one or more of the rehabilitation services in the field of housing, employment, education, society and leisure and need financial assistance to purchase basic living equipment.

People who live independently

People who live independently in the community in an apartment you own or rent (without parents) or in assisted living, in a supportive community,, or in an assisted living residence, provided that no basic living equipment is provided.

People who have not claimed financial assistance

Anyone who has not claimed this financial assistance in the past 5 years.

The steps for submitting an application and how to carry them out

If you haven’t submitted a request for a rehabilitation package yet, it’s recommended to read about how to apply for a rehabilitation package. Only those eligible for a rehabilitation package can request financial assistance for initial equipment.

If you already have an approved rehabilitation package but are not eligible for assistance in purchasing initial residential equipment, you should contact your rehabilitation package coordinator (package manager or social worker) and explain your need for support. The coordinator will refer you to the rehabilitation package committee or the follow-up committee, which includes a representative from the rehabilitation package and meets to review, together with the participant, the contribution of rehabilitation services to their recovery process.

The following documents must be attached to your request:

  • Individual Assistance Request Form.
  • Price quote for the requested item.
  • Commitment Letter signed by the service provider, committing to report on the completion of the purchase.
  • After making the purchase, original receipts in the applicant’s name must be sent to the Payments Department of the Mental Health Division of the Ministry of Health within 30 days of receiving the payment.
  • Guardian’s declaration of purchase, if applicable.

The committee will check if you qualify for assistance and decide whether to approve it.

After the Rehabilitation Basket Committee talks about your request for help, they will send you and the referring agent a decision by mail.

 

 

  • The coordinator will assist with the actual purchase of the equipment. It is important to keep the purchase receipts and ensure they include the following details:
    • Your name.
    • The item purchased.
    • The amount paid.
  • The coordinator will submit the receipts to the Payments Department of the Mental Health Division at the Ministry of Health and request reimbursement.
  • The Ministry of Health will verify that the receipts match the approved assistance according to the committee’s decision. If there is a difference between the approved amount and the actual amount paid, the automated system handling the process will make the adjustment.
  • Although the professional coordinator is responsible for sending the receipts, it’s important that you also confirm they have been sent, because if the receipts are not received for any reason, you will not be able to receive equipment purchase assistance in the future.

NOTICE

NOTICE

  • The request can only be submitted through a professional coordinator.
  • The equipment can only be purchased after the committee approves the request. Retroactive approval for equipment already purchased is not allowed.

Submitting the application

Information on how to submit the application, details of the documents that must be attached, list of equipment included in the assistance and more can be viewed on the government services website.

Submit from the government services website

Questions and answers on basic living equipment

Every five years, you can purchase any item you need. It can be an item you purchased 5 years ago, for example a television, or another item that was not previously purchased. In any case, the item that you can request is based on your needs and its purchase will be approved at the discretion of the Rehabilitation Basket Committee and according to the rehabilitation plan approved for you.

If ultimately and for whatever reason, you did not purchase the equipment approved for you by the committee and the payment for it has already been transferred to you, your coordinator will report this in the automatic system and the money will be returned.

If you need additional help or if the equipment you need costs more than NIS 3,500, you can get help from associations.

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