Rental Market Initiative: A program that allows displaced families to settle in independent housing for a new start
The Rental Market Initiative (RMI) program, implemented by Rokada with the financial support of UNHCR Ukraine – the UN Refugee Agency in Ukraine, has helped dozens of families in the Rivne region alone to settle in private apartments or houses and rebuild their lives. Overall, the program also covers Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi regions.
A new beginning became a reality for 42-year-old Hanna Shevchenko. Along with her daughter, mother, and grandmother, she evacuated from the war-torn Donetsk region to the village of Ploske in the Ostroh community. The move was especially difficult due to her grandmother’s limited mobility, requiring specialized transport to complete the journey.
In the Rivne region, the family met with the Rokada regional team.
“The program had just launched, so we were widely informing internally displaced persons about its opportunities. In addition to our social media, we met weekly with newcomers to the region at the Administrative Services Center and the Integration Space. We also engaged social facilitators who are in direct contact with families,” says Svitlana Bilyavska, coordinator of the foundation’s office in Rivne. “That is how Hanna introduced herself to our team.”
Despite the forced relocation, the woman strove to be useful to the community where she had settled, to find her place, and to begin a new chapter in her life.
At first, she was invited to join the team at the local community center, which had been inactive for nearly ten years. The woman proved herself so well that she eventually became its head. Thus, Hanna Shevchenko took on the revival of the rural community’s cultural life.
“Frankly speaking, it was scary. But the support from Rokada and the community leadership helped a lot. They simply told me, “Give it a try, you can do it.” So I agreed, and today I am happy that everything turned out this way,” she says. “We are setting up youth spaces in the community center and have already opened a table tennis section. Unfortunately, children have nowhere else to go, so they come to us even from neighboring villages—not only to learn how to play well but also just to socialize.”
Today, Hanna dreams of furnishing her own home. Currently, the family has submitted documents to receive a housing certificate in order to purchase property in Ploske. In the meantime, participating in the RMI program helps them sustain independent living.
“We are living in the house that we want to purchase eventually—the owner is willing to sell. However, we are still waiting for the housing certificate for our destroyed home in the Donetsk region,” Hanna Shevchenko clarifies.
The RMI program consists of several components: financial cash assistance for rent and utility bills, legal support, and social adaptation, ensuring that the family can independently care for themselves even after its completion.
Currently, 23 internally displaced families have become participants in the Rental Market Initiative in the Rivne region.
“The opportunities provided by RMI are the result of the comprehensive efforts of both Rokada itself and other community services that facilitate the integration of displaced Ukrainians. And the way everything turned out for Hanna and her family is a beautiful example of how, after forced relocation, one can not only rebuild their own life but also find new perspectives and become an essential part of a new community,” Svitlana Bilyavska concludes.
