How should veteran support specialists respond to defenders' requests and provide quality assistance and support? This important topic became the key focus during a meeting held in Zaporizhzhia, as part of the "Speak Up. Veteran" project.
The event, held in a new "Veteran PRO. Zaporizhzhia" hub, brought together support specialists and professionals from the veteran sector, who daily work with veterans, active military personnel, and demobilised individuals.
"Such meetings are incredibly important, because the profession of veteran support specialist has appeared recently, and despite the established legal framework, some questions arise anyway from request to request. There are cases which require more attention, deeper study, and during these events there is an opportunity to raise some issues, to learn from the experience of other support specialists.
Since our centre's opening, which has been operating for a month, we have provided assistance to approximately 400 veterans and members of their families. At the moment, we have employed six support specialists and one position is vacant," shared Mykhailo PYRIH, Director of the "Veteran PRO. Zaporizhzhia" centre.
Together with a psychologist, regional coordinator of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Programme "Are You OK?" Serhii Druzhynin, the participants discussed complex cases and developed solutions, which will help to more effectively provide support to our defenders in challenging and puzzled situations.
"For the first time, we met with veteran support specialists around a year and a half ago. Back then, they were only planning to become support specialists. Today, our systematic work is established and we have such meetings regularly. It is like the saying 'Hard training makes easy battles.' The more a person works in these 'simulations,' when we discuss a specific situation filled with various requests, the easier it will be for them to recognise the same situation when they encounter it in real life and find a solution to the veteran's actual need.
I have seen today that more than 90% of all the cases built into these simulations were clearly identified by veteran support specialists. I expected, to be honest, a lower result, but here I see that people can spot such details where you have to pay attention to each person's word, notice, and understand. The specialists who gathered today at this event see these details. It is brilliant," shared Serhii DRUZHYNIN.
One of the event participants is a support specialist called Denys, who is a former soldier. He returned from the front last September. Denys himself went through the path that every veteran takes after returning to civilian life, and now he helps others with this.
"I have been working as a support specialist for three and a half months. When I was solving my veteran's issues, visiting websites of the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Veterans, I came across an advertisement for a support specialist. I submitted an application, and passed.
The key requests that veterans make are well-known to me, because I took the same journey after returning home from the front ‒ Medical and Social Expert Commission (MSEC), disability, discharge. I understand what questions may arise, so now I help others resolve them.
I think there should be as many support specialists as possible. There are many questions, calls, and cases requiring support. I also work with families of the fallen and those who are missing in action ‒ it is a major part of my work.
Not everyone can be a support specialist. You need to be something of a psychologist too, not just understand the algorithm, but feel what assistance is needed. Today's event showed that we are on the right track. It was interesting to work in groups and discuss different cases. From what I have seen, we managed almost everything and that is reassuring," shared Denys.
The training of support specialists started as a pilot project of the Ministry of Veterans, and now these specialists work successfully, providing quality support to defenders and their families, including in Zaporizhzhia. Olena Shvets, Director of the Veteran Policy Department, provided more details.
"At the moment, in Zaporizhzhia, veteran support specialists work in the "Veteran PRO" hub, as well as in 'veteran rooms,' which operate in different districts of the city. Veterans and wives of service members also become support specialists. These people daily help other veterans find their way in civilian life. They can help veterans understand how to navigate this path as conveniently, quickly, and effectively as possible. A veteran will understand these people who have followed a similar path better than officials or ordinary civilians," noted Olena SHVETS.
It should be noted that the "Speak Up, Veteran" project, within which the workshop was held for veteran support specialists, began last summer in Zaporizhzhia and Kryvyi Rih. In Zaporizhzhia, the project was launched and is being implemented by the NGO "Zaporizhzhia. Platform for Joint Action", with financial support by Metinvest and Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works, in partnership with the Zaporizhzhia City Council. The project was created as a platform to explore the needs of veterans and provide comprehensive support in addressing the issues they face.
"This is the 7th event within the "Speak Up. Veteran" project which is implemented with support from Metinvest. This time, we decided to conduct it as a workshop specifically for veteran support specialists and employees of the new "Veteran PRO" hub.
Support for our defenders must be of high quality and meet their real needs in civilian life," noted Iraisat MAHOMEDALIIEVA, Head of the Regional Development Department of Metinvest.
It is worth noting that discussion platforms addressing issues important to defenders are held once a month as part of the project. These issues relate to legal, medical, psychological, and social benefits, as well as other important aspects where defenders need attention and support.
