Kharkivska oblast has faced the largest amount of destruction and damage to the housing stock among all the regions that suffered as a result of the full-scale invasion of the russian federation, namely, it’s more than 11,352 objects, with 150,000 people having lost their homes according to official data. Despite the constant shelling, the city hosts a significant number of IDPs from the regions bordering the russian federation in Kharkiv and mainly Donetsk regions.
In order to analyze the housing situation in Kharkiv region, we held an online event “Housing, war and IDPs: realities, challenges and prospects”. Olga Averina, regional coordinator of the Charity Foundation “Stabilization Support Services” in Kharkivska oblast, spoke about:
- the extent to which social and temporary housing is available in the city,
- whether affordable IDP housing programs work during the full-scale invasion,
- areas in which there is a need for consolidation of efforts between the authorities, the public and international institutions.
According to Ms. Olga, the existing legislation does not fully allow solving the housing problem, the mechanisms of social, temporary and crisis housing are poorly developed and were not a priority of state policies. IDPs can participate in local housing programs, however, out of 117 existing local programs, only 23 cover displaced persons as a category. One such program worked in the city of Kharkiv before the full-scale invasion. Currently, there are about 30 places of compact settlement for IDPs in the city, these are mostly dormitories of educational institutions housing about 2,400 people.
“In Kharkivska oblast, we did not find any program that would allow to create social housing funds, although the region is in the first place in terms of the number of destructions. The provision of social and temporary housing is quite decentralized, meaning that local authorities are responsible for filling and maintaining such funds. On one hand, this approach enables local authorities to independently assess the need for such housing and develop it. On the other hand, they often do not have the ability to maintain and finance such funds on their own.”
Olga Averina claims that there is a lack of stable investments in social and temporary housing funds at the national level. That is why the amount of housing in these funds is low. Communities are forced to accept programs with minimal effectiveness, seek short-term aid from foreign donors, and close gaps in one fund at the expense of another.
As a result, the size of social and temporary housing funds was small. Thus, as of January 1, 2021, there were a total of 1,098 units of social housing and 1,997 units of temporary housing in Ukraine. Unfortunately, with the start of a full-scale war, a significant number of these funds ended up in temporarily occupied territories. For example, the largest number of temporary housing in Ukraine was located in Donetska and Zaporizka oblasts.
The marginalization of social and temporary housing was embedded in the system proposed by the current legislation. Such housing is intended exclusively for “socially vulnerable categories” (which later included also the internally displaced persons). Available social and temporary housing is sometimes in poor condition or does not have common spaces or separate rooms for all residents. The question of their integration into the community is also often ignored. Both nationally and locally, people who qualify for social and temporary housing are seen as a “problem” to be “solved”, in contrast to other people who are able to rent or buy their own accommodation at their own expense.
In Ukraine, there is also a type of housing that we call “crisis” – despite the fact that there is no such term officially in Ukrainian legislation. Its main purpose is to provide short-term shelter and support to people in emergency situations. In order to achieve this goal, crisis housing must be integrated with other systems of state housing provision, for example, with the system of social and temporary housing.
In order to solve the housing problem of IDPs, CF SSS took part in a joint advocacy project with CF Right to Protection and the Norwegian Refugee Council, which is co-financed by the European Union. It is aimed at protecting housing and other rights of IDPs.
“Indeed, the situation is such that the authorities are now focused on places of compact settlement, as this is a more urgent issue,” notes Inna Tertyshna, deputy head of the Department of Social Services and Protection of Persons with Disabilities, head of the Department of Social Protection of Certain Population Categories of the of Social Protection Department of Kharkivska oblast Military Administration. — At the moment, 853 people live in the temporary housing and 112 — in the social housing in Kharkivska oblast. I hope that later, significant attention will be paid to temporary housing at the state level and the necessary legislative framework will be developed, with appropriate programs implemented. We are very grateful to the public, because the consolidation of the efforts of the authorities and the public really gives results.”
In addition, during the event, a road map for IDPs in Kharkiv was presented with useful contacts and links regarding social protection of the population, benefits, cash payments, issuance of IDP certificates, provision of housing subsidies, etc. You can download it here: https://bit.ly/3BjVll0.
Watch the record of the online event: https://youtu.be/HKkwRfE86QE
This event was organized with the assistance of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Ukraine with the financial support of the European Union. The content of this event is the sole responsibility of the Charity Foundation “Stabilization Support Services” and in no way reflects the official point of view of the European Union and the Norwegian Refugee Council.