Spaces, mobile teams, support: daily help for families in Kharkiv Region
Despite the daily challenges of war, a dedicated team of professionals in Kharkiv region continues to deliver essential social services to children and families. This work is part of the UNICEF Ukraine project “Strengthening community capacity to provide essential protection and resilience services in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions,” implemented by the NGO “Responsible Citizens.”
The region hosts:
11 child-friendly spaces — safe environments where children and parents play, learn, and recover.
7 mobile psychosocial support teams — reaching families in remote areas with limited access to services.
“We provide systematic support — consultations, individual assistance, and psychosocial help for families, even during emergencies like shelling or air raid alerts. Psychologists, speech therapists, and art therapists work in the spaces. Our staff constantly undergo training to ensure that services are high-quality, safe, and child-focused,” – says Olena Khvatynets, regional project coordinator in Kharkiv.
In the frontline communities of Donetsk region, the team of Responsible Citizens NGO is registering residents for multi-purpose cash assistance. This initiative is part of the project “Local, inclusive, and multisectoral emergency aid for war-affected people in Ukraine”, implemented in partnership with Mercy Corps and financially supported by the UK government.
The team of the NGO “Responsible Citizens” joined a training organized by UNICEF Ukraine and aimed at strengthening organizations working in the field of psychosocial support for children and families.
The NGO "Responsible Citizens" participated in the annual scientific and educational event "Science Unites," held at the Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University on the initiative of the Municipal Institution "Center for Professional Development of Pedagogical Workers" of the Kryvyi Rih City Council.
Enrique Menendez, Director of Projects and Programs at Responsible Citizens NGO, took part in the forum “Why Economic Recovery Initiatives Matter,” held in Kyiv within the framework of the JERU (Joint Emergency Response in Ukraine) project.
In 2025, communities in Donetsk Region continued to live and work under conditions of constant danger and high psychological pressure. In this reality, Child-Friendly Spaces and mobile psychosocial support teams became important hubs of stability, helping children and adults cope with stress, trauma, and uncertainty.
More than 10,000 people in the Sumy region received humanitarian, financial, and psychosocial support through the project “Supporting Conflict-Affected Vulnerable Households and Communities to Meet Basic Needs in the Sumy Region.”
12 km from the frontline: Support for those who need it most
Unified Support Standards: Our Team’s Participation in the MHPSS Development Training
Child-Centered career guidance: new approaches by “Responsible Citizens”
Completed the educational project ‘Building resilience through development’ in partnership with World Vision International
Forum in Kyiv Focused on the Importance of Economic Recovery Initiatives
How Psychosocial Support Operated in Donetsk Region in 2025
Join our training: addressing individual needs and conflict prevention
More than 10,000 residents of the Sumy region received aid