Every day, our team works to strengthen Ukraine’s social protection system. We provide legal assistance, support IDP Councils, and cooperate with communities and state institutions to ensure that every person affected by the war feels supported and has access to necessary social services.
We are sharing the key achievements of our regional teams in June, implemented with the support of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Ukraine. This is just a part of our daily work aimed at helping people across the country.
- Vinnytska Oblast: We held an advocacy meeting in the Haisynskyi Raion, with representatives from the Vinnytska Oblast Military Administration, the territorial community, and IDP Councils participating. Important issues regarding housing for IDPs were outlined. Following the meeting, the heads of communities will receive recommendations to improve the living conditions for displaced persons.
- Volynska Oblast: We provided a consultation to a grandmother caring for her grandchildren from the temporarily occupied territories who are without parents, regarding their legal status, formalizing guardianship, and social assistance. We also helped establish contact with social services.
- Dnipropetrovska Oblast: We conducted a final online event for social service providers following training sessions on using the “Case Management” tool in the Unified Information System of the Social Sphere and on the Ministry of Social Policy’s web portal. In a Q&A format, 136 participants discussed practical aspects of implementation and improving the efficiency of social services.
- Zhytomyrska Oblast: We conducted a training for social service providers on the topic “Providing Social Services to IDPs Based on the ‘Money Follows the Person’ Principle.” Representatives from 23 territorial communities attended the event, which will contribute to more effective service provision for IDPs.
- Zakarpatska Oblast: We participated in a panel discussion at the Human Capital Dimension regional human rights forum, where we presented the activities of the IDP Councils. This resulted in a number of new partnerships: at the regional level, scheduled mobile consultations for IDPs in remote communities, and advocacy for IDP rights and housing policies at the national level.
- Zaporizka Oblast: We helped an internally displaced person restore a lost passport without any documents through detailed guidance on the identification procedure. We provided mentorship for IDP Council meetings in several territorial communities and conducted a training for the Novooleksandrivska community on developing local targeted programs.
- Kyivska Oblast: We conducted a two-day strategic session for the Makarivska community’s IDP Council, helping to develop strategic and operational work plans for the next two years. We also provided full legal support to an internally displaced person’s restoration of their living allowance. The payments were successfully reinstated.
- Mykolaivska Oblast: We held a training seminar for the heads of the oblast’s communities dedicated to developing the social protection system. Participants discussed legislative innovations, success stories, inter-municipal partnerships, and ways to create their own municipal institutions. The event became an important platform for exchanging experiences and finding solutions to improve social services at the local level.
- Sumska Oblast: We provided support to an evacuated pregnant woman, helping her obtain IDP certificates for herself, her son, and her newborn child, and also advising her on applying for social benefits. We established cooperation with Save the Children and NRC in Shostka regarding support for IDPs and their access to temporary housing.
- Khersonska Oblast: We provided legal support to an IDP woman whose living allowance was terminated after she found employment, despite her disability and low income. Thanks to the legal consultation provided, the woman’s payments were reinstated, which was crucial support given her vulnerable situation.
We will continue to help improve the social protection system in target communities. We are implementing these initiatives through the Support to the Capacity of Government Institutions and Local Communities to Strengthen Social Protection Systems in Ukraine project, implemented with the support of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Ukraine.
