We are delighted to share with you the success story of our psychological support programme for the LGBTIQ+ community in Ukraine, which was made possible thanks to the support of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP).
As of 2024, approximately 14.6 million people, nearly 40% of the population, require humanitarian assistance. Over 6 million Ukrainians have been forced to leave the country, becoming refugees, primarily in Europe.
The psychological consequences of the war in Ukraine may seem invisible, but they are very real. The constant risk to life and health, lack of food, water, and electricity lead to chronic stress and negatively impact mental health. According to the Psychosocial Centre of the International Federation of Red Cross Societies, requests for psychological assistance in Ukraine are increasing as of February 2024.
LGBTIQ+ people in Ukraine have long faced stigma and negative perceptions from a portion of Ukrainian society. In the context of armed conflict, our vulnerable group is even more exposed to the risks of stigmatisation and violence from both combatants and civilians.
Thanks to funding from CDP, our team at “ALLIANCE.GLOBAL” has created a network of online psychologists throughout Ukraine to work with the LGBTIQ+ community to reduce the negative consequences of war on mental health.
Throughout 2023, project psychologists provided services to 343 LGBTIQ+ individuals through 807 consultations. The main topics addressed were anxiety, depression, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress, dissociation, trust in relationships, feelings of loneliness, defending one’s boundaries, the effects of bullying, and emotional exhaustion. Additionally, we conducted 26 group events aimed at building resilient well-being, in which 166 people participated.
Participants reported increased self-confidence, improved well-being, and a strong desire to share their experiences, strength, hope, and knowledge with others. We have helped a significant number of LGBTIQ+ people overcome the negative consequences of war, improve their overall mental health, and, perhaps most importantly, restore motivation to those who had lost hope.
We plan to provide 1,380 individual consultations and 138 psychotherapeutic groups for the LGBTIQ+ community over the two-year grant period. We are grateful for the support from CDP for our efforts to improve the mental health and psychological well-being of one of the most marginalised groups in communities affected by the war in Ukraine.
