Tair’s Story – Heartbeats, Youth At Risk

Finding her light in the darkness: How Heartbeats helped Tair find her way back to her family

Tair, a young mother from Ashkelon, battled severe postpartum depression just months before war broke out.

UIA-supported Heartbeats provided the mentorship and emotional support that helped her reconnect with herself, her partner, and her daughter.

Tair’s story was shared at the 2025 Women’s Division Events: Nurturing our Nation. At the end of her speech, her daughter’s spontaneous embrace moved the room to tears.

Her story is a powerful example of the life-changing impact of early intervention and emotional support made possible by UIA.

Tair Telem’s story

When Tair Telem stood on stage at the 2025 UIA Women’s Division events, she spoke not just as a young mother from Ashkelon, but as a survivor of emotional isolation, war, and profound personal struggle. She told the thousands of women gathered in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth “You didn’t just fund a program. You saved a family. You saved my family.”

On the surface, Tair and Maxim’s story began like many others in Israel. Two young parents from Ashkelon, building a life and starting a family. But what began as a typical journey into parenthood quickly unravelled into something far more complex.

When their daughter, Danielle, was just two and a half months old, Tair was diagnosed with severe postpartum depression. “I was paralysed by fear… convinced she deserved a mother better than me,” Tair recalled. What followed was three months in a psychiatric ward, and a growing distance between Tair and the baby she longed to bond with.

When she was discharged, the family was slowly picking up the pieces when they found the Heartbeats program, a UIA Women’s Division-supported early intervention initiative that provides support for at-risk babies and parents. But just days after their first interaction, everything changed again on October 7th.

Heartbeats: a lifeline amidst the chaos

Tair was standing in her kitchen with Danielle when the explosions started. “At first, I thought it was fireworks from a party nearby. Then came the alarms.” With no bomb shelter in their home, they ran to the stairwell, shielding their baby as best they could. Terrorists were reported in Ashkelon. The young family fled—first to Maxim’s parents, then to relatives, then from hotel to hotel, living in fear and limbo for four months. The only home Danielle had ever known destroyed by a rocket.

And yet, through that chaos, one person never stopped reaching out: their Heartbeats mentor, Roni-Lee.

“She was an angel,” said Tair. “Video calls with Roni-Lee became our lifeline. She made me feel safe. Heard. Human.” While displaced from one shelter to another, these virtual check-ins were more than just conversations. They were therapy, reassurance, and the beginning of healing. When the family finally returned home, it was Roni-Lee who walked through the door with an empty canvas and paintbrushes—knowing Tair loved to paint. “She understood me at a personal level. Her care and love made me feel secure. I had once felt out of control—but now, she was helping me get that control back.”

With weekly guidance, Tair and Maxim rebuilt their family unit. They found a shared language of values. They leaned into the tools Heartbeats gave them. For Maxim, that meant finally starting therapy to process the trauma he had been silently carrying. For Tair, it meant learning to see herself as more than a struggling parent. For Danielle, it meant getting her mum back.

The journey wasn’t linear. Setbacks came. But small milestones made all the difference. “I still remember the first time we baked carrot muffins together,” Tair said. “Danielle stirred the batter with tiny hands. Her face lit up with excitement. That moment was monumental—for a long time, I hadn’t even had the strength to prepare food for her.”

Nurturing our Nation

Tair travelled from Israel to Australia to share her journey. Not just for herself—but for the thousands of mothers like her still waiting for someone to reach out.

At the UIA Women’s Division events, held in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth in March, Tair showed us what hope looks like when it’s nurtured. The audience was moved to a standing ovation by her strength with tears welling in the eyes of women across generations. Then, suddenly, Danielle—now a toddler—ran to the stage and wrapped her arms around her mother. It was a powerful image of connection, strength, and healing. A moment Tair once feared she might never experience. Now, it was her reality.

Her story was a clear reminder of the life-changing impact of Heartbeats—just one of many UIA-supported national initiatives helping Israelis at their most vulnerable. Her voice joined those of thousands of Israelis: Olim, lone soldiers, terrorism survivors, evacuees, and traumatised families, all whose lives have been changed by your support.

“Sometimes we just need a little help, a shoulder to cry on, an ear to be heard. That’s what Roni-Lee gave us. That’s what Heartbeats gave us. It didn’t just help me—it saved my family.”

Learn more about Heartbeats, supported by the UIA Women’s Division, and how UIA is nurturing at-risk babies and their parents.