Lyubov Ivanivna is a pensioner, an internally displaced person, and a fragile woman who had to personally go through all the horrors of 2014.
Back in the days the woman lived in Donetsk, Ukraine. Her home is located near the Donetsk airport. In 2014, after collecting the most necessary things, the woman left for Dnipro, where she lived in a rented apartment until December 2018.
Then Lyubov Ivanivna moved to a dormitory in Vilnohirsk because the prices for utilities there were more reasonable. But in February 2021, the residents of the dormitory received a report of eviction due to fire safety problems.
Upon learning about the possible eviction of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the dormitory, the monitors of the R2P provided information on possible options for resettlement within the Dnipropetrovsk region. But people who had already lost their home once and settled in a new place did not want to leave Vilnohirsk. Out of the 16 residents of the dormitory, only Lyubov Ivanivna decided to move to the city of Zhovti Vody. And the new town welcomed her.
Olena Pazenko, monitor of the Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” accompanied Lyubov Ivanivna in the new city:
“When one comes to another city, it’s always a kind of a stress. And we always try to accompany our beneficiaries to help them visit all the institutions as quickly and productively as possible, as well as to gather all the necessary documents. And thanks to the head of the youth and sports department of Zhovtovodska City Council Olena Lauda and the chief specialist of the department Lyudmila Shkurenko, we managed to do everything in one day: inspect the dormitory, get a residence permit in the hospital and get an IDP certificate.
Some say that it’s not easy to be empathetic when you listen to and address the problems of dozens of people every day, but the employees of Zhovtovodska City Council ruined this myth with their own great example!”
– our colleague said.
Today, Lyubov Ivanivna lives in the dormitory of the Pedagogical College, where the 4th floor was renovated and furnished for the comfortable living of displaced persons.
“In the end of 2020, during a joint meeting, representatives of the Slovyansk UNHCR office stressed the need to focus efforts on resettlement assistance and housing for IDPs. In our work, we face the fact that many people who receive information about the available housing options need our aid and support. Housing issues are still unresolved for the most vulnerable social groups: those with disabilities, the elderly, single mothers with children.
During the relocation within the region, we have to meet people at the transport stations in the new cities and accompany them to the amalgamated territorial community departments, Departments of the Social Protection and to the Administrative Service Centres. It is too difficult for people to do all these steps alone, and not everyone can afford to stay and rent a house. This is the situation when our monitors come and help.
Communities are always interested in joint cooperation to make the lives of people better. And a great example of such cooperation is this particular case with Zhovtovodska Hromada,»
– said Myroslava Sushchenko, head of the Dnipro-Zaporizhzhya office of the Chatitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P).
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