How in Prykarpattia a civil organization, local authorities, and mass media united to help displaced people

Publication date: April 19, 2022

With the support of the Legal Development Network in Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast, the “Beehive of Meanings” started working. This is a multi-vector initiative that aims to help IDPs find housing, work, navigate legal and other issues, and be implemented in the community. 

The initiative is implemented by the public organization “Triangle” in cooperation with the Kolomyia City Council and the Legal Development Network. And the independent media resource Gluzd helps to tell about the realization of the “Beehive of Meanings”, and to visualize it.

The “Triangle” CSO has been seeking shelter for displaced people since the beginning of russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. However, this work was not so comprehensive.

«In all, we have helped 120 IDP families. That’s 250 people. On April 5, 2022, we started working at the Center for Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons, located in the Center for Administrative Services. The migrants can draw up the necessary documents, and learn about job opportunities there. And we also advise on legal issues and offer housing. In addition, appeals come to the hotline. Every day we have from 10 to 20 calls with a request for settlement and from two to eight offers of housing», – Solomia Zinets-Matsyshyn, the Head of the “Triangle” CSO.

Another component of the initiative is the formation of a “furniture bank”. Community residents, charities, and civil society organizations can provide the most necessary. Then this furniture is given for use to IDPs.

In the near future, a space will be created within the “Hive of Meanings,” which will be located on the premises of the communal property. IDPs will be able to find temporary shelter there and recover, learn a new profession, and generally establish communication with the community.

«We hope that the “Beehive of Meanings” will be a sustainable initiative that will change as community life changes. It will acquire new meanings. Even now, it’s not just about helping IDPs find housing, it’s also about breaking down stereotypes, showing that displacement is not a burden, but an opportunity for the community to help it develop. It’s about building partnerships and relationships. Now, as part of the initiative, we plan to attract business and form a “seed bank.” I’m sure there will be many more components and many cool success stories. It is also an important experience that can be disseminated and implemented in other communities. And we can show by example how», – Vitalii Okhrimenko, program manager of the Legal Development Network.

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