The winners of Varto+NGO have opened a veterans’ headquarters called Their Own to Their Own in Zhovkva, Lviv Oblast. This is the fifth space for veterans launched by the NGO “Association of Volunteers.”
“Veterans and their families can gather here to socialize, get legal advice or psychological support. To implement this initiative, the community received furniture and equipment purchased with funds we received from the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation,” says Olena Zhyvko, a veteran and head of the NGO “Association of Volunteers.”
Zhovkva City Council and other partners joined the initiative.
It is planned that the space will also be used to organize meetings for children who lost their parents in the war. Families of military personnel and demobilized soldiers are also invited.
The idea to create veterans’ spaces in small communities of the region is due to the fact that work with veterans is usually better organized in large cities. Instead, in small communities, soldiers returning from war often do not have the opportunity to receive the necessary support and assistance.
According to Olena Zhyvko, it is important to show veterans returning home, regardless of whether they live in a big city or a village, that there are people nearby who are ready to help them cope with the consequences of war and return to civilian life.
Read more about how the NGO “Association of Volunteers” works with veterans in Lviv Oblast here.
