Advocacy campaign for the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service
The advocacy campaign for the creation of the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service lasted from April to December 2024 within the framework of the project «ZNAMI — change, teach, advocate, mentor inclusively", which is implemented by civil association «The League of the Strong” with the technical support of the UN — Women in Ukraine and funding from the UN Women's peace and humanitarian aid foundation (WPHF). The total amount of project funding was UAH 340,400.
An «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» is a specialist who provides comprehensive individual support to a person with a mental disorder. A similar service successfully operates in developed countries under the name «Case Manager».
As a result of mental disorders, a person's thinking is disrupted, and they become withdrawn and have a desire to isolate themselves from society, friends, and loved ones.
The role of the Assistant is to become a link between society and a person with a mental disorder. Their primary task is to create a trusting contact with a person with a mental disorder. This is the basis for their further cooperation, in which an assistant helps them regain independence and improve their quality of life.
The project team included people who are directly involved in the process: specialists with 20 years of experience in the successful rehabilitation of people with mental disorders and a fresh perspective on the problem, people with mental disorders or disabilities caused by these disorders, as well as their relatives.
The project partners were the charitable foundations «Brilliant Mind» and «Ukrainian Social Protection», as well as the non-governmental organisations «Committee for Perfect Psychiatry» and «Association of Psychiatrists of Ukraine».
As part of the advocacy campaign for the creation of the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service, we conducted a large-scale public opinion survey. It proved the low level of satisfaction of Kyiv residents with mental disorders with the available medical and social services, as well as the urgent need to reform the city's social services system.
The research results are available here:
The results of the public opinion survey on the level of satisfaction of Kyiv residents with mental disorders with the available medical and social services were presented to the public on August 30, 2024, at a Media Center Ukraine briefing.
The recording of the briefing is available here:
Public discussions on the needs of persons with mental disorders were held on October 2, 2024, in the format of the round table «Ways to a barrier-free life for persons with mental disorders», at the press center of the Ukrainian national news agency «Ukrinform».
The event was attended by representatives of the public sector, business, medical and social spheres, higher educational institutions, Kyiv city authorities, and, of course, people with mental disorders themselves and their loved ones.
All participants agreed on the need to reform the capital's system of care and rehabilitation for people with mental disorders. The «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service has become a response to the community's current needs. The intention for further cooperation in this direction was confirmed by the signing of the Round Table resolution:
Recording of the event is available here:
During a series of public and private meetings with representatives of Kyiv local government, we conveyed to them the needs of people with mental disorders. On October 9, 2024, members of the Psychability Board, Lidiia Martynova and Kostiantyn Zelenov, took part in a meeting of the Kyiv City Council Standing Commission on Healthcare, Family and Social Policy. This became possible thanks to the assistance of Bohdana Tymoshchuk, the Deputy Chairman of the Commission and member of the Kyiv City Council. We were also supported by Vitaly Nestor, member of the Kyiv City Council, and Kateryna Vashchenko, his assistant lawyer.
The Commission was presented with the Round Table «Ways to a barrier-free life for persons with mental disorders» Resolution and a presentation «Assistant to a person with mental disorders as a guarantee of barrier-free life». Members of the Commission sincerely responded to the proposals by deciding to review the Round Table Resolution at a joint meeting of NGO representatives and officials of the Department for Social and Veterans' Policy of the Kyiv City State Administration.
On November 20, 2024, a meeting was held with representatives of the Department for Social and Veterans Policy of the Kyiv city state administration, which was initiated by the the Kyiv City Council Standing Commission on Healthcare, Family and Social Policy. All departments of the Kyiv Social Service Centers network participated in this meeting. Psychability was legally supported by Kateryna Vashchenko, the assistant lawyer of Vitaly Nestor, who is the Kyiv City Council member.
For more information on the meeting, please follow the link:
On December 3, 2024, a meeting was held with Maryna Poroshenko, the Chairwoman of the Kyiv City Council Standing Commission on Healthcare, Family and Social Policy. We fruitfully discussed the specifics of the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service, the implementation of which was supported by the majority of respondents in our survey. The meeting was held with the assistance of Bohdana Tymoshchuk, the Kyiv City Council member and the Deputy Chairman of the Standing Commission.
Kateryna Vashchenko, assistant lawyer to Vitaliy Nestor, the Kyiv City Council member, provided us legal support. Maryna Poroshenko promised to consult with lawyers and representatives of the Ministry of Social Policy on the legal aspect of implementing the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service. For our part, we have pledged to describe in more detail the areas of responsibility of the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» and develop a convenient procedure for ordering this service for clients. For our part, we undertook to describe in more detail the areas of responsibility of the “Assistant for a Person with Mental Disorders” and to develop a convenient procedure for ordering this service for clients.
As part of the project, we also presented 3 stories of people with mental disorders, where the prototype of the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service played a decisive role in rehabilitation:
