It has been a year since the opening of the "Helpus" supported living home in Shcherbynivka, Cherkasy region. A home where former residents of institutions for people with disabilities have decent living conditions. A home made possible thanks to your support.
I recently visited the guys and would like to share my impressions and future plans.
Currently, two people live in the house—Maksym and Sasha. Both spent many years in orphanages and adult care institutions. Maksym has a second-degree disability. We are helping him look for a job—there are some options, but none are very realistic yet. Sasha has a first-degree disability and is legally incapacitated, so I act as his guardian. Both young men mostly take care of themselves and the house, while our social worker assists with shopping and cooking.
Although the house is small, it has a cozy atmosphere and comfortable living conditions. Each resident has their own room, and there are two bathrooms and a kitchen. The house is equipped with all necessary appliances, internet access, and two laptops. There is also a small extra room, but since it is quite small, we are planning to expand the house to accommodate 2–3 more people. The house sits on a 0.4-hectare plot of land, which we are gradually developing—we have planted trees and flowers and plan to create a small vegetable garden and greenhouse.
From the "Helpus" and "Happy Child" funds, we allocate between 12,000 and 17,000 UAH per month for the house—covering utility bills, the social worker’s salary, and additional food and household expenses. We also use Sasha’s and Maksym’s pensions. Of course, this funding is not enough, and even finding these amounts is not easy—it is much harder to raise donations for adults than for children.
Still, for roughly the same amount of money (excluding the cost of renovating and equipping the house), we have been able to provide Sasha and Maksym with much better living conditions than those in a psychoneurological institution (PNI). The key point is that these individuals live within a community, not behind the fences of a closed facility. This is #deinstitutionalization in practice.
What’s Next?
There are many plans ahead.
Ensuring stable funding – We need to secure ongoing financial support for the residents, so we are looking for regular donors. We would be happy to invite them to visit and meet the residents.
Expanding the house – We have already laid a 4x8m foundation for an extension and purchased aerated concrete blocks for the walls. Now we need funds to pay for construction work and materials for the roof and interior. The estimated budget is around $7,500. This expansion would allow us to accommodate 2–3 more people, but additional donations will be needed to support their living expenses.
Providing meaningful activities for the residents – The guys are very hardworking, eager to be useful, and want to earn money for their personal needs. In addition to growing their own food, we dream of setting up a greenhouse. Maksym enjoys woodworking, so materials for this would be helpful. We are also considering organizing community clean-up events and even developing a social cleaning enterprise. However, all of this requires initial investments and, most importantly, an organizer or job coach.
Exploring state funding opportunities – We need to research the possibility of officially registering "Helpus" as a provider of social services and obtaining government funding.
How You Can Help
We would be incredibly grateful for any donations and informational support!
You can make a one-time or regular donation - here
Or via PayPal: albert@deti.zp.ua (for the Helpus house)
