Displaced Kherson Families Rebuild Lives with Save Ukraine Support

Ivan left the occupied Luhansk region a few days before turning 18. The young man decided to leave his parents, who support Russia, to join his friends in Dnipro. He met them in the chat of an online game. Suspilne News / Ivan Antipenko

Tetiana, Viktor and their sons spent five days fleeing from the part of Kherson region occupied by Russia. Three days after they left their home and moved through checkpoints to the Ukrainian border, representatives of the FSB of the Russian Federation appeared. That the occupiers opened a case against Tetiana and Viktor for neglect of parental duties was learned by them on the way to Kyiv. The reason was that their children studied online at a Ukrainian school.

At first, they didn’t bother us.

Now they live in a modular house in the Kyiv region, provided by the Save Ukraine charitable fund. There is one room, a bedroom for the children, a kitchen and minimal everyday conveniences. Ahead is gathering documents, finding a job, new housing and integration into the community, a religious community and a school for the children.

Housing and daily life of the displaced

The Save Ukraine support center currently houses more than a hundred people, most of whom are children. Social workers say that ahead is processing IDP certificates, finding housing and work, access to medical care and education for the children. But each family has its own challenges, from individual needs to the desire to stay or move further.

Back then, my husband and I were scared that the children would be taken away.

In the early years of the occupation, before the start of the school year, the occupation authorities proposed to switch the school to Russian and promised high salaries. However, the family refused, and staff at educational institutions, often for various reasons, left the village. They again faced the realities: more documents were needed, and in some cases – entirely new ones.

The Save Ukraine support center currently houses more than a hundred people, most of whom are children. Social workers say that ahead is processing IDP certificates, finding housing and work, access to medical care and education for the children. But each family has its own challenges, from individual needs to the desire to stay or move further.

I remember, at the start when I left, I arrived in Ternopil – and there everyone helped, everything was free. And now it’s just…

Svitlana is a psychologist at the center, who works with adults and children evacuated from the occupied territories. She talks about trauma and the path to recovery through symbol-drawing methods and body-oriented therapy. According to her, many people need help with documents, housing and education for the children, as prolonged exposure to occupation leaves deep traces in the psyche.

How can we be friends if we are enemies?

Ivan from the Luhansk region explains how the war and the rupture between the occupied and government-controlled territories led him to meet new friends and pursue further legalization of his documents. He went to Dnipro, later to Kyiv, where he continued his studies and obtained a Ukrainian passport, leaving the Russian document as a keepsake. Now he studies at a Kyiv university and continues to adapt to life in Ukrainian society.

Save Ukraine’s Center of Hope and Recovery emphasizes that everyday steps are obtaining documents, access to medicine, housing and education. After three years of occupation, life requires systematic support, and the center’s community tries to remain a pillar for people who feel trauma and need time to return to a stable existence.

We will pray.

Then we will be of some use.