Every day, the regional lawyers of the United Voices in Action program help IDPs overcome challenging situations related to legal issues, such as restoring lost documents, obtaining living allowances, and renewing social benefits. Sometimes, to solve one problem, you need to go through a complicated path full of bureaucratic obstacles, draft requests, obtain the necessary documents, etc. Their clients receive legal advice absolutely free of charge.
Yevheniya Kovalenko, a regional lawyer in the Volynska Oblast, shared one of her success stories.
The lawyer was approached by Ms. Viktoriya, an IDP from the city of Izyum, who, together with her two young daughters, was forced to leave her home and move to Lutsk. In November 2022, Viktoriya gave birth to her third daughter. The woman applied to the local authorities to obtain the status of a large family and receive social benefits and provided all the available documents but was denied the certificate. They referred to the fact that it could be obtained only at the registered place of residence.
In addition, in December, the entire family stopped receiving a monthly living allowance. Local officials just threw up their hands.
In desperation, Viktoriya turned to Yevheniya Kovalenko. First of all, the lawyer sent an official request to the Department of Social Protection to find out the reasons for the termination of the IDPs’ living allowance. At that point, the debt amounted to 40 thousand hryvnias. A week after the request was sent, full payment was credited to Viktoriya’s bank account.
In order to obtain a large family certificate, Yevheniya advised filing a lawsuit to officially establish that the child from her first marriage lived with her mother. For this purpose, she prepared a lawsuit, which, due to the change of jurisdiction, was to be considered by the Pavlohrad City District Court of Dnipropetrovska Oblast.
While waiting for the case to be heard, the lawyer also monitored changes in legislation. For example, in March 2023, the procedure for issuing certificates to parents of large families was updated: instead of a court decision, it was now possible to provide a conclusion from the Children’s Service confirming the child’s place of residence. These changes were great news for Viktoriya’s family, as they no longer had to wait for a court hearing. The lawyer informed Viktoriya, who prepared the necessary documents and received the long-awaited certificate on April 10. Her children are now eligible for benefits for large families.
This is one of the many examples when regional lawyers of the United Voices in Action program helped IDPs. If you also want to receive a free legal consultation, submit a request using the link: https://bit.ly/3MbRzyy.
This article was made possible as part of the United Voices in Action program implemented by IREX together with the Charity Foundation Stabilization Support Services and supported by the U.S. Department of State.