Emergency in Ukraine - Immediate Relief Assistance

Since the start of the war in February 2022, Soleterre has supported 14 hospitals in Ukraine aiding a total of 647 individuals to receive the care they need. In one year, Soleterre’s medical staff has also conducted 970 rehabilitation sessions for 60 children at our partner facilities throughout the region. To date, Soleterre has reached 5,945 individuals across 20 distribution centers and conducted 356 psychological and social support sessions for individuals living in the areas of Kyiv, Poltava and Cherkasy alone.

Outside of Ukraine, Soleterre officially registered its field operations in Poland as an external branch of the organization in December 2022. As of January 2023, Soleterre is officially active in 40-45 sites in Podcarpacje, the region with the highest registered Ukrainian refugee population. In that time, Soleterre has assisted nearly 3,300 persons, including Ukrainian refugees and international support staff, and conducted 13,500 therapy sessions in Poland.

Our strategy has been to support existing pediatric wards in Ukraine; provide physical therapy, rehabilitation and psychological support for a population traumatized by war; offer shelter for families in need; and assist refugees, displaced persons and communities to build hope for the future. As of January 2023, Soleterre has 4 staff members active in Ukraine making our mission a reality.

1. Support for existing pediatric services in Ukraine

Soleterre continues its collaboration with 5 main medical facilities in Ukraine: the National Cancer Institute of Kyiv, the Neurosurgery Institute of Kyiv, Kyiv City Children’s Clinical Hospital; Western Ukrainian Children’s Medical Center in Lviv; Saint Nicholas Hospital in Lviv.

In this collaboration, we are dedicated to:

• providing necessary medicines and hospital supplies
• replacing obsolete medical equipment 
• upgrading hospital spaces
• organizing educational programs and a support network for Ukrainian facilities 

2. Expand resources for physical therapy, rehabilitation and psychological support 

Soleterre has coordinated a network of psychological support services composed of 40 psychologists and psychiatrists, dedicated to addressing the needs of individuals coming from all over Ukraine. Over the course of one year, this network has reached 3,437 Ukrainians throughout the country including: 

• Nearly 3,400 support sessions conducted over telephone hotlines
• More than 800 occupants hosted by shelters in Poltava and Vinnytsia visited for therapy sessions
• Over 2,550 support sessions carried out for patients of hospital wards across Lviv and Kyiv.

3. Offer shelter and stability

• A new Dacha is now under construction in Kyiv! The Family Home, which will offer 14 rooms to families with children undergoing cancer treatment, is scheduled to open June 1, 2023.
• 5 single-family units are now available to families of children undergoing cancer treatment in Lviv.
• 30 apartments are now available to families in Neslukhiv at our newest Casa Soleterre. Since the opening in November 2022, the shelter has hosted 75 individuals.

4. Address the needs of refugees, displaced persons and communities.

The arrival of winter and freezing cold temperatures in Ukraine are escalating the already precarious situation for these vulnerable communities. With help from the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development, Soleterre is working on a new project to provide emergency response services this winter to address the cold and immediate needs of those living in the areas of Kiev, Poltava and Cherkasy.

As of today, our project supports 6 local health centers providing access to medicines, supplies and psychological first aid for health workers. We also administer the following services directly to those in need: 

• distributing ready assembled kits for basic necessities now scarce due to the ongoing war, including nutritional food stuffs, home goods, hygiene products and winter gear
• psychological and social support to those who have been displaced
• aiding with the psychological and medical needs of children with cancer.

In Poland, Soleterre is recognized as one of the only reference points for administered mental health and psycho-social services paying special attention to the growing refugee population. Starting with 2 mobile units catering to facilities around the region, our Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support team is now composed of 7 Ukrainian psychologists and a cultural mediator who are busy assisting refugee centers, train stations, shelters, psychiatric clinics, child services and Rzeszow Hospital’s pediatric oncology ward. 

This year, Soleterre will continue providing psychological support to those in need, focusing on women, minors, and members of particularly vulnerable groups in need of protection from social ills such as addiction, psychological disorders and gender-based violence. Soleterre plans to open another “Casa” offering protection and stability to those vulnerable persons suffering from psychological disorders, specifically targeting those that are unable to access medications or often turned away and mislabeled as “dangerous.”

Eventually, we hope to develop our mobile units into a more stable, permanent center providing psychological aid to the region. While there are currently offices in Przemysl and Rzeszow equipped with spaces for individual therapy sessions, we plan to expand these services to Gdansk, Krakow, Wroclaw and Katowice in the future.

We would like to thank you for your support and hope you will continue to help us bring hope to Ukrainian families.

Links:

• Check out this video on our ongoing distribution efforts
• Join us on a virtual tour of Casa Soleterre-now open!