We are beginning a new stage of our work and an important new partnership.

The Luhansk Association of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (LAOOI) is implementing the project “Inclusive Accommodation and Protection of Vulnerable IDPs in Kharkiv Region” with the support of the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

People are at the heart of this project. Internally displaced persons, including persons with disabilities and other people with limited mobility living in collective accommodation sites, for whom accessibility and safety should not be a formality, but a real part of everyday life.

At the selected collective accommodation sites, we will conduct a comprehensive assessment of physical, informational, and organizational accessibility and identify residents’ needs. This will be followed by practical improvements, including adapting entrances, sanitary and hygiene facilities, and common areas; installing ramps and handrails; and providing specialized equipment.

But this project is not only about improving facilities.

Residents will be able to receive individual support, case management, legal and psychosocial assistance, assistive devices, and, in certain critical cases, targeted cash assistance. The project also includes accessible information materials, meetings on rights and available support, as well as referrals to other specialized services.

For LAOOI, this project is another opportunity to put into practice what we have emphasized for years: accessibility should be measured not by words, but by tangible changes that people can experience in their everyday lives.

We thank the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for its trust and this new partnership.

There is a great deal of work ahead. And the main result we are striving for is to ensure that people who have been forced to leave their homes because of the war can live in dignified, accessible, and safe conditions.