In Ukraine, people with disabilities can get free consultations on home improvement. Such services are provided as part of the project “Unite and Help in Time of War.” They are implemented by the NGO “Active Rehabilitation Group” with the support of the NGO “The League of the Strong”. This was reported by Daria Sydorenko, executive director of “The League of the Strong” public union.
“During the war in Ukraine, the number of people with disabilities has increased significantly. And consultations on housing arrangements will be primarily interesting to those who have recently received a disability, in particular, due to the hostilities. This service will help make their home comfortable for living. A person with a disability is not left alone with the problem of how to make their home comfortable and barrier-free. After the consultation, there is a clear plan and steps to be taken,” said Daria Sydorenko, executive director of the League of the Strong NGO.
This is the second phase of the project ‘Unite and Help in Time of War’. So far, 52 people with disabilities have benefited from free consultations on home improvement. Most of the requests came from Kyiv and Lviv regions, where experts provided 15 and 12 consultations, respectively. Residents of Rivne region received 6 consultations, Vinnytsia – 4, Dnipropetrovs’k – 3, Ivano-Frankivsk, Sumy and Ternopil – 2, Volyn, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava and Kharkiv – 1 consultation each.
Soldier Oleksandr Popyk redesigned his bathroom thanks to a consultation from the Active Rehabilitation Group. Together with a consultant, he developed drawings, according to which he made repairs on his own. The man also discussed issues regarding the entire apartment.
“Accessible, comfortable housing is a primary need. After all, it is in everyday life that you gain independence. Without professional advice and assistance, I would have had to bother. It would have taken more time, and I don’t want to waste it,” says Oleksandr Popyk.
To get a free consultation within the project, a person first needs to decide on the barrier they want to remove. It can be an entrance to a private house or a high-rise building, an interior remodeling of a room: a bathroom, kitchen, room, balcony, etc. As well as the adjacent territory: lowering curbs, relaying tiles or creating a uniform coating on the sidewalk, creating a parking space, etc.
The next step is to submit a request through the website of the Active Rehabilitation Group. After it is reviewed, a consultant contacts the person to clarify the details. Each request is considered individually. The consultant sends an extended questionnaire, where the person needs to attach photos of the barriers to be removed.
After processing the request, the person receives recommendations in a pdf document. It describes the steps to be taken and contains supporting information, such as illustrations and links to where to buy something, if it is some kind of inventory.
The project “Unite and Help in Time of War” has been operating in Ukraine since 2022. The project is implemented by the League of the Strong public union in partnership with 11 organizations. As part of the project, they provide various types of assistance to people with disabilities affected by the full-scale invasion. Over 23 thousand people with disabilities received assistance in the first year of operation.
The project is implemented with the financial support of the World Vision and the European Disability Forum. The views expressed in this material are those of the authors and therefore in no way reflect the official opinion of the financial partners.