Resettled and vulnerable: a large family from Kherson is under the care of Mykolaiv lawyers

Publication date: April 5, 2023

This story of a resettled mother with four children is difficult due to many circumstances. However, the lawyers of Mykolaiv NGO “Time to gather Ukrainians” approached the situation so professionally and humanely that they literally took a large family under their care, providing comprehensive assistance at all stages of adaptation.     

In February 2023, Mrs. Liliia appealed to Kateryna Demchenko, a lawyer of Mykolaiv NGO “Time to Gather Ukrainians”, with a request for help in obtaining financial and humanitarian aid. The woman said that she is an IDP from Kherson, Roma by nationality. She moved to Mykolaiv with her four children, escaping from shelling. The family was accommodated in one of the local dormitories, but it needed food and funds for at least the most necessary things. This family was made even more vulnerable by the fact that the woman was raising the children alone, and besides, she was illiterate.

The lawyer advised Liliia and explained that according to the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons” and “The Procedure for Issuing and Issuing a Certificate of Enrollment of an Internally Displaced Person”, approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 509 dated 1.10. 2014, the woman must contact the local social protection department. There, they will help her register her four minor children as internally displaced persons (IDPs), obtain an IDP certificate, and issue social benefits for displaced persons. 

• Since Liliia is actually illiterate, we accompanied her to the Department of Social Protection of the Population and helped her fill out the relevant documents. There we also registered her to receive financial aid from international organizations (UNHCR), – explains Kateryna Demchenko.

In order to register the fact of the birth of Liliia’s youngest child, who was born in the occupied territory, the lawyer also took the client to the Department of the State Register of Civil Status Acts, where she helped fill out the documents for registration.

The organization also took care of Liliia’s two older children: the boys were arranged for temporary study at one of the boarding schools in Mykolaiv. They also contributed to the fact that the family received humanitarian aid from partners and volunteers: children’s clothes, books, sweets, and diapers.

• At the same time, we made a request in the family case to restore Liliia’s status as a “single mother” and to establish the statuses of “mother of many children” and “low-income family”, to issue social assistance, benefits for the birth of a child, and other social benefits. We expect to receive a decision on processing documents and receiving payments in March, – adds the lawyer.

Although the work with Liliia’s case is still ongoing, at this stage the lawyers have achieved significant results. Taking into account the fact that the large family received the necessary social assistance, social and physical support from a lawyer to important documents and payments to institutions, and in general, was not left alone with its many problems.

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