A Centre for Resilience was opened in the Pereshchepyne hromada in the Dnipropetrovsk region – a space for support, psychological assistance and social unity for local residents. The Centre was established with the support of Save the Children in Ukraine. As part of anti-crisis assistance, the Polaris Programme provided the Centre with modern technology and equipment necessary for organising the work of specialists and delivering outreach services to hromadas residents. The total amount of technical support from the Programme amounted to 864,000 hryvnias.
The Centre for Resilience was established in response to the hromadas needs during the war – to provide support for internally displaced persons, families of military personnel, children, young people and all local residents in need of psychological and social support.
The centre will operate as a multifunctional space where people can receive specialist advice and psychological support, as well as take part in stress resilience training and group sessions to improve mental health.
The opening of the Centre in Pereshchepyne was attended by leaders of the international organisation ‘Save the Children’, a team from the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in the Dnipropetrovsk region, representatives of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, local authorities, non-governmental organisations, and the social sector, as well as the project’s partners and initiators who contributed to its implementation.
In their speeches, they emphasised the importance of creating such spaces in hromadas, as it is here that support, trust and a sense of security are fostered.
“We are sincerely grateful to the Polaris Programme for its timely assistance in opening the Centre for Resilience by providing the necessary equipment for the specialists who will work there, amounting to nearly 1 million hryvnias. Thanks to this support, residents of the Pereshchepyne hromada will have access to a wide range of high-quality social services,” said Yaroslav Tsvirkun, Head of the Pereshchepyne hromada.
For the Polaris Programme, one of the key principles of crisis support for hromadas is to strengthen existing local initiatives and create synergies between partners, authorities and hromadas.
“It was important for us to support precisely the initiative that the hromada had already been implementing on its own. Such decisions bring quick, practical results and help hromadas strengthen their capacity to provide essential services to people exactly where they are most needed,” said Pavlo Pushchenko, an expert with the Polaris Programme.
For the Pereshchepyne hromada, the opening of this space marked not only the launch of a new social service, but also an important step towards strengthening resilience, mutual support and the accessibility of assistance for local residents in wartime conditions.
