What support do IDPs in Poltava Oblast need? Who helps them overcome their challenges? Why is it not enough to clothe and feed them, and why can solving real problems take years? Roman Shyrokhykh, the coordinator of the United Voices in Action program in Poltavska Oblast, implemented by IREX together with the Charity Foundation Stabilization Support Services and supported by the U.S. Department of State, spoke about how politics affects assistance to IDPs in Poltavska Oblast and his dreams of abolishing the term “IDP”.
IDP Councils are created in different regions, and they work to solve the problems of IDPs and show results. How is it going in Poltavska Oblast?
– A classic IDP Council is an advisory body, similar to a civic council. In Poltava, civic councils are not stipulated by the city’s statute. As an alternative, there are working groups. They have similar functionality but are more effective. Poltava City Council actively creates working groups and closely collaborates with them. They include those departments, offices, and divisions that communicate or work with IDPs, their registration, humanitarian aid, etc. In addition to representatives of the deputy corps, there should be representatives of the public, including IDPs.
First, we collected information from IDPs for a month and a half and asked them if they wanted to take an active part in the life of the city, and then we held a vote. That was how eight members of the public were elected to the working group on IDPs at the city council.
When members of the public, deputies, and officials sit together at the same table, they can reach a consensus on many complex issues. This format of interaction is the most productive.
What are the special goals and objectives of the IDP working group in Poltavska Oblast?
– The working group has prioritized the following areas: housing issues, employment and retraining, and the creation of a single website with up-to-date information for IDPs.
Secondly, it is advocating for the needs of IDPs and bringing their problems to the local authorities: the deputy corps and the executive committee of the Poltava City Council.
How else do you support IDPs in Poltavska Oblast?
– We provide legal advice. IDPs needed it most at the beginning of last summer when a lot of people arrived. Now more than 200,000 [IDPs] are officially registered in the Oblast, and more than 60,000 in the city (unofficially, more than 100,000 in the city).
The issues are very different. These include compensation for utility bills, complicated cases such as burials, and problems with obtaining financial assistance from the government.
We lead every person seeking legal support to a successful outcome. We analyze the legislation ourselves and help others within the scope of our authority.
We solve almost 100% of the issues. For example, one persistent problem was the registration of IDPs with the social protection department. In Poltava, there is no social protection department at the city council. Instead, this is handled by the Departments of Social Protection of the Population in three district councils. We find out where the person lives, meet with them, and go to the Department of Social Protection or have the IDP and the employee of the department exchange contact information. Then they contact and work with the entire list of issues. IDPs can also contact us for legal advice on these and other issues.
We also have a database of volunteer and civic organizations that are responsible for humanitarian aid: warm clothes, food, and hygiene products. We also provide people who contact us with a list of places where they can get help.
Do you see any tangible results of the assistance to IDPs under the United Voices in Action program?
– The first aspect is the long-term benefit, and the second is the benefit here and now. As for the second, we can talk about the effectiveness of the legal component. The project also included humanitarian aid. For example, we supported a Collective Center housing 128 IDPs. We equipped it with refrigerators, power strips, slow cookers, kettles, a boiler, bedding, and beds. There were many IDPs arriving in our community, and the city council did not have the resources to provide immediate assistance. That’s why the United Voices in Action project was very helpful in quickly meeting the needs of IDPs and improving their living conditions.
Regarding long-term prospects, we should understand that even after the war is over, a certain proportion of people will remain here. Even if a third of the official number of registered IDPs (60,000 in Poltava) remains here, it is a lot. Elderly people, who would not have moved under normal circumstances, have also left their homes. To prevent them from feeling abandoned, institutions must be created to help them adapt and integrate into community life.
Personally, I don’t really like the term “IDPs”. When we say “IDPs,” we separate community residents from internally displaced persons. I hope that the United Voices in Action project, the working group, and similar initiatives will allow us to move away from this distinction in the future, and we will be able to speak firmly about equality of opportunity.
You can get free legal aid and useful information for IDPs on the website of the program United Voices in Action.
Source: Polstavska Khvylia.