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IhorKits
Ihor Kits
[ region ]
Lviv
10 / 09 / 2024
Resident of the supported living home
[ topic ] Health
Switzerland contributes to supported living programmes for people with disabilities, including mental disorders, in Ukraine. Supported living homes create conditions as close to home as possible. Residents of the house learn to independently meet their household and social needs – from cooking and cleaning their rooms to shopping – in small groups, accompanied by assistants and social workers. In this way, people with disabilities are empowered to take more control over their lives and have greater freedom. They also take the first steps towards integration into local communities.

There are only several supported living homes in Ukraine, which create a worthy alternative to often overcrowded psychoneurological boarding schools and psychiatric hospitals. Switzerland finances the development of supported living services, in particular the opening of supported living homes through the Swiss-Ukrainian project Mental Health for Ukraine, Caritas Ukraine and other partners.
Good Health and well-being / 3
My name is Ihor. I am 32 years old. And this is my Home.

My life was hard when I was in orphanages. I dreamed of a better life. When I first came here, my eyes widened in surprise. I was told that I could try living here for 10 days and stay if I liked. I stayed. And now I prefer to live here.

Every day I get up in the morning, wash my face, brush my teeth. I also like to go to church. We learn something new constantly and I like it. We clean our rooms. We learn to cook. I enjoy going shopping with assistants and buying groceries. We go on excursions. I like to make mosaic pictures by numbers, go to the gym and workshops, be with friends.

There are many books and friends here. I have five friends living in the house with me. And assistants and social workers who help us come to us regularly. It is interesting to live with new friends. We need friends to communicate. They help us, and we help them. I really like to help and support others. They feel good about it. And I am feeling good, too.
I want to read and write properly, and I am already learning it here. And most of all, I dream of becoming a chief, preparing soups, porridge, pizza.
I like to dance and sing. No one taught me this, I learned it myself. It is very uplifting. I know many songs. 

I like my life. People should learn to really live their lives.
Good Health and well-being / 3
after
24 feb 2022
What else is Switzerland doing for Ukraine?
Switzerland has been assisting those impacted through various means – from humanitarian aid, humanitarian demining and financial support to granting protection status S to individuals from Ukraine seeking refuge. By 15 February 2024, the Swiss federal government had spent a total of around 3 billion Swiss francs to support Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland and people in Ukraine.

In 2022, Switzerland organised the first Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano and launched the political process to help Ukraine rebuild. The Summit on Peace in Ukraine, held in Switzerland in 2024, set up a path towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. In the longer term, the Federal Council aims to allocate 1.5 billion Swiss francs to support Ukraine's recovery efforts by 2028.
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