Comprehensive support: a team consisting of a lawyer, a social worker, and a psychologist helps the internally displaced man

Publication date: April 24, 2023

Having turned to Mykolaiv NGO “Time to Gather Ukrainians” for legal advice, the displaced man received comprehensive assistance. The organization’s lawyers not only advised the man and accompanied him to the necessary authorities for the preparation of documents, but also involved a social worker and a psychologist to help the displaced man.

48-year-old Mykola turned to Kateryna Demchenko, a lawyer from the NGO “Time to Gather Ukrainians” at the beginning of March this year, during an on-site monitoring of a compact settlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Mykolaiv district of the Mykolaiv oblast. He asked for advice on obtaining a second extract about the place of permanent registration and the possibility of registering as an IDP.

The lawyer explained to the husband how to obtain a second extract about the place of permanent registration at the State Migration Service of Ukraine, and also provided an algorithm for registering him as an IDP and processing social benefits for the residence of an immigrant in accordance with current legislation (the procedure for obtaining a certificate of an IDP is regulated by the Resolution of the CMU of 01.10.2014 No. 509, taking into account the changes introduced by the Resolution of the CMU dated 13.03.2022 No. 269 and the Resolution of the CMU dated 20.03.2022 No. 332).

Maryna Demchenko also helped Mykola prepare a package of documents and issue a bank card account.

• However, in addition to legal problems, the man also complained about health problems. He shared that he needed a doctor’s consultation and psychological support, – says Kateryna Demchenko.

She suggested that all these issues should be resolved by a team: the man himself, a lawyer, and a social worker jointly developed and agreed on a joint action plan to resolve all of Mykola’s requests.

In particular, a lawyer and a social worker, in addition to consultations, provided him with legal, documentary, and social support to all necessary authorities.

• We accompanied Mykola to the Department of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Central District of Mykolaiv, where he was able to obtain a second extract about the place of permanent registration. We also accompanied him to a bank to open a card account and obtain details, as well as to the district office of social protection, social benefits, and compensations to register as an IDP, obtain a migrant certificate, and issue social benefits for the residence of an IDP, – explains Kateryna Demchenko.

In addition, the man received psychological first aid and further support from a psychologist.

The material was created within the framework of the “Regional Coordinators” Initiative. The initiative is launched with the support of the international charity platform GlobalGiving and the Legal Empowerment Fund (Fund for Global Human Rights program) and the Legal Development Network. The content of the publication is solely the responsibility of the Legal Development Network and does not necessarily reflect the views of the previously mentioned organizations.

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