Yesterday, a roundtable discussion was held in Kryvyi Rih on the topic: “A mechanism for creating a social space for everyone as part of the development of an effective system of social services: implementation of the project to create Resilience Centers in communities, the role of local government and the public sector in this process.”
The event was also attended by the heads of communities, NGOs and volunteers, including Oksana Astrova, Advisor to the Minister of Social Policy, Mykola Lukashuk, Head of the Dnipro Regional Council, Stepan Aslanian, President of our Charity Foundation “Help For Ukraine” (also the head of the NGO “For a Better Social Future”), Natalia Kozlova, Social Manager of the Novopil Resilience Center, and Valeria Kryvobok, a psychologist at the same Center.
They discussed the principles of organization and work of Resilience Centers in Kryvyi Rih district. Currently, there are only two of them here – in the Novopil community and in Kryvyi Rih. According to the staff of the Novopil Center, the demand for services is huge. In particular, people seek legal aid and psychological support. Special attention is paid to veteran policy. After all, war leaves a moral imprint on each of us. Constant anxiety, worries about loved ones, economic difficulties, personal problems – all of these things combine to make it hard for many to cope. That’s why, according to Stepan Aslanian, there should be more such centers, because everyone has suffered psychologically from the challenges of wartime, and Ukrainians are a nation of empathetic people who know how to help and support each other. Vulnerable categories of the population, internally displaced persons and the military need special care. To help those in need in various ways, Resilience Centers are being opened in different communities – spaces for the development and support of Ukrainians.
In order to increase the number of such centers and help and support as many people as possible, they discussed the concept of a Resilience Center and the step-by-step stages of its creation, the relevance of expanding the system of psychosocial services in communities through the development of social space infrastructure, the role of the authorities and the public in expanding the network of centers.
But most importantly, it was a unique opportunity for the participants to learn from the experience of the Resilience Centers already operating in Kryvyi Rih, their methods of working with the military, veterans and internally displaced Ukrainians. This includes the challenges faced by the Centers’ specialists at the beginning of their work and successful cases of assistance to community members. Stepan Aslanian shared successful examples of the development of such centers and his vision of further development of social services in communities.
Such events are extremely important, as they allow establishing cooperation between government agencies, NGOs and local governments to develop a quality system of social services. The Resilience Center is not just a place of support, but a space where everyone can get help, find motivation and faith in the future.
We are grateful to our partners for their cooperation and support. Through our joint efforts, we create effective mechanisms to help those in need. Together we are changing lives for the better!
