Shelter closes and social support continues

We have closed our shelter after providing 38,218 beds for the night to families displaced by war since March 2022. Our support will continue through our Creative Hub, aid and advice for families. To help displaced families with their new start our Social Worker has given 790 consultations in 2023 so far. This has helped children to enroll in school and families to find housing, social benefits, employment… and much more.

The last families who stayed in the Care Centre in Vynykyy found new homes, so the shelter was able to close at the end of July 2023. When there was a large need for shelter we housed up to 198 people at a time in rented hostels, family houses and in our Care Centre which opened in April 2022. At this phase of the war there is less need for temporary housing in Lviv, though displaced families still need other support as they make a new start.

“From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank you, Khrystyna, and the Care in Action Creative Hub. Thank you very much for sheltering and taking care of us during the year, thank you for your timely and much-needed help! Sincerely, the Soshko and Rylsky family”

Every displaced family has a story, and like Iryna from the Dnipro Region, many who we have helped found it very difficult to make the decision to evacuate from their home. When we first met Iryna, who left home with her mother and two children, she tearfully told us how they experienced constant shelling, days and nights spent in basements, saw their school and college destroyed, and needed medical care, which left them with no choice but to leave.

After arriving in Care in Action shelter, we could help the family work through the process of registering as Internally Displaced Persons and accessing aid from the state and other organisations. There was another challenge for Iryna’s family when her mother, who walked with crutches, was diagnosed with cancer. Thanks to the well-coordinated work of our team and the partnerships built, the Danish Refugee Service got involved and funded 630 Euro for the operation, medicines and partial rehabilitation. This is just one example of many people who have had essential help in a time of crisis, thanks to donors, partners and our team.

Children’s education is a key priority, and we were glad to help Iryna’s daughter Katya to enroll in school and join activities at our Creative Hub, while her older son Kyrylo could do an internship in tyre fitting as vehicle repair was his hobby in his hometown. Despite the fact that he has to get up early and take two buses to get to work, he is keen to continue working on his career.

Many partners helped us to set up the Care Centre in a PLAST (Ukrainian Scout) building, as you can see in our video below. Thankfully the equipment, such as beds, kitchen appliances and laptops, is still helping children in need, as it has now been given to displaced families’ for their new homes, as well as for children in foster and low-income families.

Thank you so much for every donation that makes it possible for our Creative Hub and social support to continue! We are grateful that we can help children and parents through the challenges of wartime.