Podilskyi district is the largest in Odeska oblast by area. Currently, 10,344 internally displaced persons are registered there. The Social Protection Department of Podilskyi District State Administration provides the internally displaced persons with state payments, and also ensures that the places of compact living had everything they need.
We spoke with the head of Department, Larysa Mykolaivna Dovha, and learnt how, despite problems with electricity and heating, they manage to provide people who have moved to Podilskyi district with comfortable temporary housing this winter. She also shared how the work of the Department had improved thanks to the technical equipment that we had donated this autumn with the support of the UN Refugee Agency. She also spoke about updating the work process and plans for its development.
— Has the burden on your management increased as the mass internal migration began?
— At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we had hopes that it was temporary and that soon people would return home. Now, of course, we understand that this is a long-term work. Currently, the main workload is associated with the arrangement of places of compact living, designed for permanent residence, especially in the winter period, as in the cold season, people should have not only basic amenities, clothes and food, but also heating.
We commenced this work in September commissioned by the head of the Regional State Administration, Maksym Marchenko, because each of the 12 communities of Podilskyi district must provide 50 places for IDPs accommodation. As an example, they are refurbishing educational institutions that are no longer used in the educational process — they are undergoing major repairs and getting prepared to house people. In November, we received humanitarian aid: beds, mattresses, blankets. They were handed over to the communities for the places of compact living arrangement. The Regional State Administration provided the oblast with 40 generators for uninterrupted power supply — without them, many places of compact living would not even have heating.
However, there are other needs besides generators. For example, the place of compact living in Podilska community, which was also organised on the basis of an educational institution, needs shower cabins and furniture. Our Social Protection Department monitors the situation every week, we create lists of needs and send them to the regional IDP Department, which is already carrying out extensive work to attract aid from charitable organizations. And at the local level we coordinate, keep statistics and monitor the needs.
— How much time, on average, do IDPs spend in the places of compact living? Are these places furnished with the expectation of a long-term stay?
— We do not limit people in terms of stay. According to the law, as bodies of state power or local self-government, we must provide accommodation and food for a month. Afterwards, we have the right to decide based on the circumstances of a specific person. That’s why we provide the opportunity to live in places of compact living for as long as necessary.
— Does the technical equipment we have donated to you help in the Department’s work?
— We are very grateful to you for the provided equipment. This year, naturally, there are issues with the state support. However, the volume of work with IDPs has increased significantly. And the new software for calculation of IDP payments requires more powerful equipment.
Thanks to the equipment you have donated, from January 1 we will create a separate IDPs Department in the Administration, as during this year each of our specialists have been performing certain functions in working with the displaced persons. For example, the Department for Family and Youth Affairs monitored humanitarian aid and housing provision. Now we will finally have the necessary structural changes.
However, in addition to our central Administration, in Podilskyi district there are Social Protection Administrations in remote places, like Kodyma, Balta, Ananiv and many others, also requiring modernization.