EMERGENCY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE TO DISPLACED PERSONS IN TIMES OF WAR

Abstract

Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the question of temporary housing for those who have lost their homes and have been forced to seek refuge and adapt to new sociocultural conditions, requirements, and rules of host communities has become acute. According to Situation Reports, nearly eleven million people in Ukraine need urgent and immediate support with housing and essential items. East Europe Foundation, from the first days of the war, has implemented the Shelter project, aimed at providing emergency assistance to internally displaced persons, by raising funds from international organizations. Together with partner non-governmental organizations, the Foundation provides shelters, food products, hygiene items, and social-psychological support to those in need. Shelters are a space, a place, an environment where people can live for a certain period, receive professional help from an interdisciplinary team, and protection. Currently, there are various types of shelters. This article focuses on shelters for internally displaced persons who find themselves in extraordinary situations and how the system of such shelters works in Ukraine. In the conditions of war, a significant and urgent problem is the forced displacement of families with children, elderly people, persons with disabilities, etc. from the zone of direct military operations to safer places of residence. Despite the methods of evacuation, internally displaced persons face certain problems and risks not only during the move but also upon arrival at the destination. After all, people who have been forced to leave their homes face the problem of adapting to new living conditions. For example, a person may experience repeated psychological traumatization, increased aggression and self-destructive tendencies, exacerbation of addiction. These issues require the mandatory involvement of a team of professionals, appropriate social and psychological assistance and support, as the individual is in a confused state and unable to independently solve personal problems. The article analyzes the experience of creating and organizing shelters by the International Charitable Organization "East Europe Foundation", which has been actively helping internally displaced persons who have suffered from military actions and have been left without their own housing since the beginning of the war. The stages of adaptation of internally displaced persons to new social conditions have been identified, as well as the services that can be obtained while staying in a shelter.