Creation of a municipal institution “Veterans Center” in Shostka

One of the important aspects of the psychological consequences of war is the problem of adaptation of military personnel returning from the front to peaceful life. Combat veterans often encounter difficulties in returning to everyday social activity due to physical and psychological trauma.

War changes one’s perception of the world and forms new patterns of behavior that are often difficult to integrate and can cause conflicts in peaceful life. Problems such as aggression, isolation, and the inability to cope with emotions and memories of combat make the reintegration of veterans into civil society a difficult process. These problems necessitate the creation of a space for the rehabilitation and social integration of veterans. Successful rehabilitation requires the creation of comprehensive services, including psychological assistance, job search support, and social adaptation through participation in community or educational programs.

The adaptation of veterans is important and necessary for their successful return to civilian life, as war leads to psychological trauma and alienation from peaceful society.

Today, the state pays great attention to veteran policy. It is the veteran hub that, according to its functional purpose, will do its utmost to socialize veterans, provide advice and support in the implementation of initiatives, psychological, legal, medical assistance, etc. This is a supportive, friendly hub where qualified specialists will help solve veterans’ problems.

The Veterans Center is a municipal facility created to provide service recipients, namely war veterans and their family members, with information and counseling support; legal assistance; psychological assistance; physical and sports rehabilitation; social adaptation; professional adaptation, including the development of digital literacy skills; and the organization of leisure and active recreation.

The project aims to achieve the following goals:

• raising awareness of opportunities and state guarantees for veterans;
• improving the level of support for veterans;
• physical and psychological resilience, socialization of veterans;
• reducing tension and social problems in the community;
• increasing trust in local government and authorities.

Today, every community is scaling up the state initiative to create Veteran Hubs for veterans and their families in their territories, which are currently effective communication platforms. These platforms facilitate information and advisory support for veterans and their family members, including practical assistance from specialists from relevant institutions in various fields.

Support for combatants and veterans is a very important issue for the Shostka community. Therefore, the focus of cooperation is on working on new opportunities and meeting the needs of veterans and their families, finding common ground in resolving the most important issues on the path to reintegration into the new Ukrainian society.

The Shostka city territorial community, with a population of 94,400, is the second largest in terms of population after the Sumy community. It is the center of the north of the Sumy region, where industry is developed and vocational and technical educational institutions are available, which contributes to education and employment.

At the same time, the large number of war veterans and fallen heroes, as well as their family members, in the Shostka community creates a high social demand for the creation of a veterans’ space (center).

A location in the city center with the appropriate infrastructure, transport accessibility, and a park area was chosen for the veterans’ space.

During the implementation of the project and the design of the Veterans Center, part of the existing ZIRKA building at 38 Svobody Street in Shostka, Shostka District, Sumy Region, will be renovated to house the veterans’ hub, which will become a magnet for residents of the Shostka community and Shostka District.

The design task is to preserve the character and structure of the building and its interior elements while updating them in line with modern trends.

The space is designed according to the open space principle. It provides for the placement of various functional areas with a minimum of partitions, which promotes communication and efficient use of space. It is important to divide the space into functional areas for work, rest, and meetings using furniture, small partitions, or color schemes, as well as to provide enough space for comfortable movement.

Barrier-free access and orientation aids for people with reduced mobility are provided.

The layout of the veterans’ center is connected to the outdoor space. An open terrace, sports and children’s playgrounds, parking space for private vehicles, and landscaping are planned.

The Veterans Center will be equipped with an alternative power source, namely a rooftop solar power plant. This can serve as a “point of resilience” for community residents.

The Veterans Center, a municipal facility for veterans, will function as a “one-stop shop” for comprehensive services based on the principle of “peer-to-peer,” including involving veterans in the process of providing assistance to others.

The Veterans Center will become a facility for supporting veterans and their families, providing comprehensive assistance for their adaptation to civilian life. At the Veterans Center, it will be possible to receive free psychological counseling, legal advice and support on legal issues, assistance in solving life problems, applying for social services, housing search, job search advice, assistance in starting a business, retraining, and other social issues, and will also promote the creation of a safe environment for communication and exchange of experience.

The work of the veterans’ center will help reduce tension and social problems and is critical to ensuring long-term security and stability in the Shostka community.

The Veterans Center will also be able to provide services online.

Overall, the creation of the Veterans Center in the Shostka community will increase trust in local government and authorities, raise awareness of opportunities for veterans, promote their physical and psychological resilience and socialization, and increase the level of support and national cohesion.

In the future, the Veterans Center will be able to scale up its activities not only in the region but also throughout Ukraine.