news and updates
October, 2024
London’s mental health hospital is redefining patient care with the launch of a thoughtfully designed outdoor chill area. Created as a safe and welcoming space for patients and their families, the area features a vibrant mural that celebrates nature, creativity, and connection—key elements in the healing journey. The mural, designed in collaboration with local artists, mental health advocates, and even some patients, brings the space to life with blooming flowers, calming landscapes, and uplifting colors. It serves not just as art, but as a source of hope and tranquility. This new outdoor area offers patients a break from the clinical environment and encourages meaningful moments with loved ones. It will also be used for activities like art therapy workshops, mindfulness sessions, and community gatherings—helping to build a sense of connection and emotional well-being. By blending nature and creativity, the hospital is setting a new standard for holistic, patient-centered care—reminding us all that healing can happen in the most beautiful, unexpected ways.
August, 2024
Following the successful installation of the Gezint Cabinets at St Marry's, we had the opportunity to meet with the head chaplain, the Reverend Giles. He expressed a strong interest in expanding this valuable service to patients and their families at a second hospital under his leadership. Gezint has previously conducted successful community engagement initiatives, and we are excited to bring our support to this new location. In the coming months, we will be installing the new cabinets, further enhancing our services at the Charing Cross hospital and continuing our mission to provide comfort and assistance to those in need
July, 2024
We are excited to announce that we have moved to new premises in Hackney to better serve our projects for disadvantaged children who are orphans. Here, children and teenagers benefit from one-on-one counseling and personalized care, while also engaging in our programs that include preparing packages for those in need. Additionally, we have created a games room where participants can come by appointment to join in on the fun. However, we still need significant help with renovating the space, including painting, installing new flooring, and setting up cabinets. Your support can make a meaningful difference in enhancing our facility for these deserving young individuals.
June, 2024
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our exciting leaflet campaign, designed to showcase our organization’s services and appeal for donations from the public! This informative leaflet provides essential details about our operational areas, locations, and how to access our facilities. It also includes valuable information on our partnerships within the health sector, ensuring that the community knows how we collaborate to make a difference. We invite everyone to join us in spreading the word and supporting our mission, as together we can create a lasting impact!
May, 2024
Experts in the Eirav at Homerton hospital recently met with the head management of the maintenance team to discuss the construction of a new Eirav that will connect the ambulance area, A&E, and the car park, as well as the mental health area. This initiative aims to ensure that patients can observe the Sabbath comfortably and with ease. During the meeting, plans were drawn up in collaboration with the Gezint committee, who also engaged with the hospital’s leadership to finalize the project details. This development highlights our commitment to enhancing accessibility and support for patients in our care.
April, 2024
We are proud to announce the installation of a 24-hour free soup kitchen at Homerton Hospital, providing round-the-clock access to a fridge, ice machine, and a hot and cold drinks station for patients and their families. Located in the hospital's large maternity and labor ward, where the highest number of births in London occur, this initiative aims to support those dealing with complicated births and extended hospital stays. The soup kitchen offers a comforting place for nourishment and refreshment, ensuring that families and patients can access essential food and drinks whenever they need them.
March, 2024
Gezint volunteers, alongside local minority leaders, recently collaborated to install kosher dietary essentials for patients at Westcliff Medical Care Centre. This initiative ensures that patients with specific dietary needs have access to nutritious, kosher meals during their stay. In addition to the standard meals and snacks provided for free to all users, we also offer puréed meals for the elderly and baby food, ensuring that every patient, regardless of age or dietary requirement, is well cared for. This effort highlights the power of community support in creating an inclusive, compassionate environment that enhances patient care and comfort.
February, 2024
Empowered Through Purpose: Yad Voezer’s Special Needs Community
In a beautiful partnership between Yad Voezer and Gezint, adults with special needs are playing a meaningful role in supporting hospital patients across the community.
At Yad Voezer, residents take part in carefully labeling and packing food parcels that are then delivered by Gezint to hospitals. With patience and pride, they prepare each package, knowing it will bring comfort and care to someone in need.
This initiative not only eases the burden for hospital staff and supports patients, but also gives Yad Voezer’s residents a strong sense of purpose and inclusion. Through their work, they’re making a real impact—while gaining valuable skills in a warm and empowering environment.
Together, Yad Voezer and Gezint are building a community of care, connection, and compassion January , 2024
We are excited to announce the launch of a new initiative aimed at gathering community insights through our leaflets: Your Voice Matters: Shaping Success Through Feedback. These leaflets offer an easy way for you to share your thoughts on our services and projects. Alongside this, we’ve also introduced two engaging campaigns, A Fusion of Elements: Creativity Unfolds in Every Layer, highlighting our artistic efforts, and Packaging Perfection: A Taste Before You Open, showcasing our work with food packages. Your feedback plays a vital role in shaping the future of our projects, and we encourage everyone to get involved and help us improve!
December 2023
Escape Room Adventure for Teens with Extra Support Needs We’re excited to announce our upcoming trip to a local escape room, planned especially for teenagers with extra support learning needs! This unique adventure will be a fun way for teens to work together, solve puzzles, and build their confidence in a supportive environment. Our team is dedicated to organizing weekly meet- ups, and we aim to have at least one outing each month to create memorable, enriching experiences for the teens. Escape rooms offer an ideal mix of teamwork, problem-solving, and excitement—perfect for helping teens grow their social skills, resilience, and creativity. We can’t wait to see how they work together to “escape” while enjoying the thrill of the challenge!
June 2022
Each week, our dedicated volunteers deliver food, coffee, and essential supplies to respite rooms in hospitals, providing comfort to family members and friends of patients facing extreme hardships, such as terminal illness or extended stays for childbirth. These respite rooms offer a quiet space for reflection, rest, and nourishment, giving loved ones a chance to recharge while staying close to those they care for. In addition to food and beverages, we provide religious essentials, offering spiritual support and a sense of peace during emotionally challenging times. Our efforts aim to ease the burden on families, ensuring they feel cared for and supported during their hospital stays.
March 2022
During the pandemic, our dedicated volunteers took action to support those most affected, delivering food packages and essential supplies to individuals stuck at home. Whether it was shopping for groceries, picking up medications from the pharmacy, or even feeding pets while their owners were hospitalized, we made sure no one was left without help. Our services extended to the sick, the elderly, and overworked hospital staff who had little time to manage their personal responsibilities. Additionally, we provided local emergency service workers with vouchers, ensuring their families could purchase necessities while the breadwinners were unable to assist. Our commitment to caring for the community during this crisis made a difference in countless lives.
January 2022
During the pandemic, we launched a nationwide awareness campaign to support hospital and medical facility staff in their critical efforts. Our initiative aimed to raise awareness about the importance of public health measures while providing essential supplies and assistance to frontline workers. We coordinated the delivery of meals, personal protective equipment (PPE), and comfort items to hospitals across the country, ensuring healthcare professionals were supported as they cared for those affected. Our campaign also included educational outreach, promoting safety guidelines and reinforcing community solidarity during this unprecedented time. Together, we worked to protect both staff and patients in every corner of the country.
13 October, 2021
After many months of GEZINT liaising with the chaplains and hospital board, we have succeeded in obtaining permission for a Shabbos Cabinet, based in the Chaplaincy room. St Marys is a 45-minute drive from Jewish communities, and therefore was a desperate need for Jewish Patients and their families.
20 March 2019
UCLH, in conjunction with the GEZINT organization, marks the opening of beautiful Kosher respite room for Jewish patients and their families. The room is based in the maternity wing unit, and supplies a wide variety of Kosher food and drink, and other Jewish essential items are stocked there as well. There has already been great feedback on the use of the room, and we are sure the room will have a positive impact on the Jewish Families who come to UCLH.
12 December, 2018
There is now a Kosher room available for Jewish patients, visitors and staff at Broomfield Hospital, kindly opened by GEZINT, in conjunction with the hospital Chaplains. The room was arranged following the rising need for Jewish Patients, whose only Kosher food source was an hour’s drive away from the Hospital.
02 April, 2018
Stanmore Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital is pleased to announce the opening of the GEZINT Cabinet in our Chapel Portacabin. The Cabinet provides an array of Kosher food, refreshments and extra comforts for Jewish patients, their families and staff at Stanmore.
09 November, 2017
A great need arose in the South End Community for a Shabbos Room in the local hospital. With the help of the Chaplain at South End Hospital and Community Rabbi, GEZINT (aka Ozer Umagen) has successfully set up a beautiful Kosher room equipped with sufficient food, refreshments and amenities.
26 July, 2017
Visitors and patients at St Thomas Hospital, and the nearby Evelina Children’s Hospital can now benefit from the Shabbos Cabinet, provided by GEZINT (aka Ozer Umagen). The Shabbos Cabinet is located on the first floor in the St Thomas building, by the prayer rooms.
testimonials
In the midst of the Pandemic, in March 2021, my wife gave birth to a healthy boy in UCLH. Just a few short hours later; the joy was replaced with grief, when the news reached us that my dear Father had succumbed to Covid. My wife was understandably very weak and in pain following the birth, and was finally transferred to the ward late in the evening, hungry, exhausted and alone. It was a great relief when to her surprise, a nurse walked in bearing a tray filled with delicious food and refreshments from the Gezint room. The Gezint room was a true lifeline for us when we were in such a great time of need and it brought us such chizuk knowing that we were not alone in that difficult period.
Yisroel P
Golders Green
I live in Westcliff-on-Sea and gave birth to a baby girl following an emergency C-section. Due to Covid regulations, the hospital did not allow any visitors, in addition to making a fuss about any outside food coming into the hospital. It was the Gezint Room that came to my rescue during my three-day hospital stay, with their amazing supply of microwavable goods, refreshments, food and drink.
Chani
Westcliff-on-sea
When our Daughter, Sara was intubated and transferred to St Mary’s PICU on an early Friday Morning, the last thing on our mind was food.
Shabbos was fast approaching, and the nearest Kosher food store was a forty-five-minute drive from the hospital.
We were, thus, delighted to see that we can have a semi-normal Shabbos meal complete with challos, grape juice, fish, compote and even fake candles provided by the Shabbos cupboard!
Thank you, Gezint, for providing us with our physical needs, in addition to bringing us a great sense of comfort in these turbulent times.
Family B.
Stamford Hill,
My wife was urgently called into hospital late Friday afternoon, to be assessed urgently due to her complicated pregnancy. We packed up our stuff in a hurry, and it was such a great reassurance that we didn’t have to worry about food since we knew we could always rely on the GEZINT Room, if we ran out of food etc. The Shabbos room was also incredibly helpful for just sitting and relaxing and taking away the worrisome thoughts we were having. Thank you is not enough. Stamford Hill, Chaim L.
Chaim L.
Stamford Hill
It was a not-such-a-great surprise when our micro-tiny baby was born at 25 weeks. We knew we were in for a long haul. It was seventeen drawn out weeks until our baby was finally transferred to our local hospital, and you can try to imagine the exhausting trips back and forth from the hospital, every single day. The GEZINT room was our oasis in the desert of life in the NICU. We always knew we had a place to ‘escape to’ for a little peace and quiet, a grab of a snack, a drink or just to relax with a magazine. Stamford Hill, Family T.
Family T
Stamford Hill
My husband was hospitalized over Passover at the Broomfield Hospital.
We are traditional Jews and Passover is very dear to us. We are very strict about the customs, and we are very particular to only eat food prepared by ourselves over the holiday.
We were astonished and pleasantly surprised when the Jewish Chaplain informed us of the Kosher GEZINT Room, where we were able to obtain Matzot, grape juice, and even Haggadot for the Seder night.
It was so special and touching to see how people were looking out for us, ensuring that our Passover will be complete.
Ruth and Simon.
Finchley
