How Psychosocial Support Operated in Donetsk Region in 2025
The year 2025 in Donetsk Region meant constant work in close proximity to the front line, frequent displacement, and high levels of psychological strain among both children and adults. In communities where stability was more the exception than the norm, Child-Friendly Spaces became places of safety, predictability, and support.
Within the framework of the partnership with UNICEF Ukraine, the team of the NGO “Responsible Citizens” worked both in the Spaces and through mobile psychosocial support teams. This format made it possible to respond quickly and flexibly—going to where needs arose suddenly due to evacuations, shelling, or new waves of displacement.
“Throughout the year, the work focused on stabilizing the emotional state of children, supporting parents, providing individual and group trauma-focused support, and developing stress-coping skills. For many families, this assistance became a critically important point of support amid daily uncertainty,” comments Oksana Ivatina, Project Coordinator in Donetsk Region.
The work was carried out within the framework of the UNICEF project in Ukraine “Strengthening Community Capacity to Deliver Essential Protection and Resilience Services in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia Regions,” which is implemented by the NGO “Responsible Citizens” with the support of the Government of the United States of America.
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Over 300 kg of support for children and familiesThe aid was delivered to communities in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Sumy regions, where our specialists work daily with children and parents affected by the consequences of the war.
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Aid Continues to Reach Frontline RegionsThanks to our partners — Humanitarian Nova Poshta — we have delivered another batch of support to psychosocial support centres in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions.
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In Kryvyi Rih, our team took part in the socio-educational hub “Together for the Child”The event was organized to mark the International Day of the Social Pedagogue, celebrated on October 2.
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A cycle of mine safety classes for children continues in the Kharkiv regionThese trainings became possible thanks to cooperation within the Child Protection Cluster, where one of the coordinators is Olena Khvatynets, project manager of the NGO "Responsible Citizens" in the Kharkiv region.
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Catching Up on educational losses in eastern UkraineEducational losses of children due to the war have become a challenge that the NGO “Responsible Citizens” started addressing last year. In the complex o...
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Support for Families and Children Displaced in Kharkiv RegionIn the Kharkiv region, our team supports people daily who have been forced to leave their homes due to the war. Most of them are families with children arriving from Vovchansk, Druzhkivka, Derhachi community, and other affected areas.
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“My journey towards change began quite literally with Nordic walking,” says Olena Rumyantseva, a teacher from Kharkiv“In May, I was fortunate to attend a training session led by Olena Bieloliptseva, the coordinator of educational programs at the NGO ‘Responsible Citize...
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Over 2,500 families with children in Zaporizhzhia have already received assistance through Child-Friendly Spaces during the first half of 2025This project is implemented by the NGO “Responsible Citizens” with the support of the UNICEF Country Office and in cooperation with the Zaporizhzhia City Center for Social Services.