“Hope and healing”

New LandsAid project in Ukraine: support for elderly and physically impaired people

Particularly vulnerable

Evacuation, accommodation, care

December 2024 – As part of our Ukraine aid, we have launched a new project together with our local partner organization Save Ukraine. It is supported by Aktion Deutschland Hilft. The measures are aimed at older people and people with limited mobility or disabilities – groups of people who are particularly vulnerable.

The aim of the project is the evacuation, temporary accommodation and care of 600 people from the frontline and temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine. It is also planned to provide permanent residence outside the danger zone.

Two “Centers for Hope and Healing” provide accommodation for 50 people per month. Here, the people affected receive round-the-clock support from social workers as well as medical and psychological care. The aim is to offer them a safe living environment. This also includes ensuring that they eat three nutritious, balanced meals a day. They also receive legal support and help in finding relatives. Joint activities, such as attending church services or playing games in the afternoons, promote the social integration of the people.

The situation on the frontlines remains critical for Ukraine. According to the New York Times, Russia captured more territory in Ukraine in October this year than in any other month in the last two years. At the same time, Russian attacks on Ukraine are increasing, the supply of electricity, heat and water is collapsing and it is becoming increasingly difficult for aid missions to help the affected people on the ground.

This situation is particularly critical for older people and people with limited mobility who can only take care of themselves to a limited extent or not at all. At the same time, they are the ones who are usually left behind in areas where there is active fighting. They are less able to flee independently, lack access to information about existing support options and usually have no savings. They urgently need help.

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Urgent help needed

The situation in the contested areas remains critical for the people of Ukraine. Vulnerable groups such as the elderly and people with reduced mobility are particularly in need of protection. Please support us in helping them.

The proportion of older people in the Ukrainian population who remain in areas of active hostilities is greater than their proportion of the total population. They are also overrepresented among the casualties, accounting for 42 percent. The reason for this is that older people are less able and less willing to leave their homes.   They are emotionally tied to their homes, have difficulties evacuating and lack access to information about existing support options. In most cases, they also have no savings. Furthermore, they are often unwilling – or physically unable – to use air raid shelters. Elderly people left behind in the frontline region also suffer from limited access to food and medical care (ACAPS, thematic report, August 01, 2024). For people with physical disabilities, evacuation is a challenge, and access to emergency information and shelters is also difficult for them. Most air raid shelters and collective shelters are not adapted to the needs of people with disabilities and lack staff to adequately support them, leading to their physical and social isolation. These people need support.

Save Ukraine

The project is being implemented by the Ukrainian organization “Save Ukraine” with our financial support. Save Ukraine was founded in 2014 and is now the largest organization in Ukraine dedicated to rescuing children, families and elderly people from the effects of war. The registered non-governmental organization, which is run by 210 employees and 300 volunteers, is one of the few organizations that still evacuates elderly and mobility-impaired people – a need that became even greater with the escalation of the Russian offensive in spring 2024. Save Ukraine has been operating two “Hope and Healing” centers for the reception and care of internally displaced persons with mobility impairments and the elderly since July 2022. These centers serve as important hubs for the provision of basic assistance, including shelter, medical care, document recovery support and psychological care for the elderly and people with reduced mobility. Save Ukraine maintains four rescue teams involved in the evacuations. A 24/7 hotline takes calls from people in need of help. Save Ukraine evacuates around 300 people every month. The top priority is to save the lives of children and adults.

 

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