Improving the Mental Health and Psychosocial Well-being of Ukrainians Affected by the War in Kharkiv Oblast, Especially Children, Trough a Mobile MHPSS Unit

SOS Children’s Villages is implementing a 2-year project aimed at improving the mental health and psycho-social well-being of Ukrainians, especially children, affected by the war in Kharkiv Oblast. 

Considering the volatile security situation in this oblast, projects activities are delivered through a mobile MHPSS unit composed of 3 locally hired psychologists and a social worker (provided with professional supervision to prevent burn out). This mobile MHPSS unit moves around the Kharkiv oblast in a minivan and is uniquely equipped to provide front-line mental health care when and where it is most needed, in communities without access to MHPSS services. The mobile unit uses partners’ spaces such as schools and social/recreational centers for the delivery of project activities. 

The project objective will be achieved by:

1) Providing mental health and psychosocial support services to children and their families in hard-to-reach communities

The MHPSS unit leads group and individual MHPSS sessions with children and adults (+2,500 by the nedo f the project) to equip them with the skills they need to be resilient and overcome trauma. Approaches used include: basic psychosocial support; the “Teaching Recovery Techniques” approach (approved by the Ministry of Education); the Team Up methodology, etc. Beneficiaries in need of additional support are referred to local partners (speech therapists, psychotherapists, etc.) and other SOS CV Ukraine projects in the area. To complement the MHPSS services provided, locally procured essential materials are distributed to extremely vulnerable families (benefiting +1,150 individuals) according to their urgent needs (emergency food packages, hygiene kits, basic medicine, kitchen items, vitamins, etc.). 

2) Building the capacity of local MHPSS professionals and non-professionals in providing quality MHPSS services to the population

SOS CV Ukraine strengthens the capacities of 160 local actors who work with individuals (especially children) impacted by the war (mental health professionals, schoolteachers, social workers, pedagogues, volunteers and staff from community-based organisations, etc.). The objective of these capacity building trainings is to enhance the MHPSS skills of these individuals so that they can, in turn, better support children and families in need of MHPSS in the area. This includes teaching about basic psychosocial support techniques, methodologies focused on learning to prevent professional burnout, how to recognize trauma in children and adults, where to refer individuals in need of additional service, etc. 4,000 children and adults are expected to benefit from the enhanced skills of the trained individuals.