ABSTRACT
Extreme cases probably mean little operationally, but for theoretical purposes they are the classic situations that clarify reality, shedding light on the feasible—the potential of the human spirit to melt the iceberg of social indifference and neglect. Chapter 15 is a description of an outstanding group care success in a sensitive and intensely invested environment.
Unlike most group programs that admit, try to modify, and send back into "the real world" those designated to their care, the kibbutz aims to retain. The epitome of success is therefore the acculturation of an adolescent to the norms of the setting not only for the period of treatment but also for life. Members of the Cactus youth group described here were mostly former slum dwellers designated for the scrap heaps of humanity in the manner of urban young people like them throughout the world. They came to Ramat Yedidim with few illusions, and few were harbored about them. The first contacts were wary and painful; yet, as this book is being prepared for press —12 years after the arrival of Cactus—its former members comprise a significant and productive part of the kibbutz. How did it happen?
