Support and decent living conditions: Rokada launches a new project for communities in southern Ukraine
Rokada is starting work on strengthening the protection system, mental health, and psychosocial support for residents of Ukraine’s southern regions. The initiative will cover the Mykolaiv region, as well as, depending on the security situation, selected communities in the Kherson region and social institutions in the Odesa region.
The new project is designed to provide a comprehensive response to the challenges caused by the full-scale invasion, combining support for individuals, the development of professional competencies of specialists in communities, and the improvement of conditions in social protection institutions.
Kateryna Matsko,
regional coordinator for Rokada in Mykolaiv region
“For the third year, we have been working in the communities of the Mykolaiv region, and every day we see how deep the consequences of the war are for people. Psychological trauma, forced displacement, loss of loved ones, and living under constant threat — all of this requires systemic and long-term support. The new project combines psychological, social, and humanitarian aid, as well as strengthening the capacity of social institutions and local partners, so that people can receive quality services and live in safe and dignified conditions.”
Areas of assistance:
Support for social protection institutions
Rokada will work on upgrading geriatric boarding houses, psycho-neurological boarding schools, and children’s orphanages-boarding schools in the Odesa region. The foundation’s team will also provide the institutions with necessary equipment, hygiene products, and rehabilitation aids. At the same time, the foundation’s psychologists will work with residents, providing individual and group psychosocial support.
Humanitarian aid for community residents
The most vulnerable residents of communities in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions will receive individually tailored non-food item kits according to their needs. Social workers will also work with the people, providing case management, alongside psychologists who will offer free consultations. If necessary, the foundation will transport people with limited mobility to ensure they gain access to essential services.
Support for survivors of violence
People who have survived Russian occupation, unlawful detention, or sexual, physical, or psychological violence will receive long-term, trauma-informed psychological support.
To strengthen this focus area, psychologists from Rokada and partner organizations will undergo specialized training based on the Zentrum ÜBERLEBEN methodology. The acquired knowledge will enable them to work with complex traumatic experiences in accordance with international standards.
The project also plans to train 750 psychologists, social workers, employees of social institutions, educational establishments, non-governmental organizations, and rapid response services. Each participant will gain up-to-date knowledge in the fields of mental health, psychosocial support, trauma work, responding to gender-based violence, humanitarian response, and preventing professional burnout.
The project will be implemented in close cooperation with local self-government authorities, social protection institutions, non-governmental organizations, and international partners.
Thousands of people are expected to receive direct assistance under the project, and its results will positively impact approximately 25,000 residents of communities in the Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Odesa regions.
