"A veteran with an amputation. He dreamed of going to Odessa for rehabilitation. We found a sanatorium, but they refused him. He immediately became discouraged, saying, 'What can you do?' But I said, 'No, wait.' And now he's on his way to Odessa," smiles Larisa Gilova.
She has been working as a support specialist for veterans in the Lyubotyn community in the Kharkiv region for five months now.
Supporting war veterans and demobilized persons is a new profession designed to provide comprehensive support to veterans and their families in civilian life.
Today, 1,500 support specialists are working in more than 1,098 communities across Ukraine. Almost 40% of them are veterans themselves, members of their families, or families of fallen defenders.
The project has been running for less than a year. We will tell you what the veterans themselves think about it and who is mastering the profession of specialists ready to support demobilized defenders and their families.
Veteran Andriy Brodsky: "Veterans need guidance in civilian life."
Andriy Brodsky was one of the first veterans to join a pilot project supporting veterans in Ukraine. It was at the end of 2023, when he himself was getting used to civilian life again after many years in the military.
"Personally, after so many years of service, it was difficult for me to understand how to find myself in civilian life," says Andriy. "It's like you're going to the mountains for the first time. You don't know the way, you haven't prepared your equipment or even the right shoes... You need a guide who will advise, support, and warn you. We veterans also need a guide in civilian life."
Head of the Veteran Development Center at Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University, war veteran Andriy Brodsky. Photo from the university website
Andriy joined a pilot program to train assistants for veterans, and later became the head of the Veteran Development Center at Zhytomyr Polytechnic University. Currently, the Center provides training for support specialists who want to improve their qualifications in addition to the state educational program.
Veteran Larysa Hlynchak: "There was aggression and a feeling that no one needed me."
Larysa Hlynchak from Dnipropetrovsk region is another example of how defenders are involved in creating a high-quality support system for veterans and demobilized persons in Ukraine.
The woman served in the airborne assault troops for eight years: ATO, OOS, and then the full-scale invasion began.
Larysa Hlynchak (left) joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine following in the footsteps of her daughter Angelina (right). Photo provided by Larysa.
The veteran returned to civilian life twice: in 2021 and in 2023. Each time, she was exhausted by endless paperwork and queues at the military registration office, hospitals, and social services.
"I felt that no matter where you went as a soldier on leave or as a demobilized person, no one understood you, and you didn't understand them," says Larisa. "I felt aggressive and like nobody needed me."
The veteran underwent training to work with veterans and demobilized personnel and now works at the Center for Social and Psychological Services in her hometown of Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
"Family is more about moral support."
For a year and a half now, the Pavlohrad community has been meeting the need for comprehensive support for defenders on its own.
Individual work with military personnel, demobilized soldiers, and families of the deceased began back in 2023, even before the launch of the state program for professional support of veterans. Now there is hope that those who already have practical experience in providing such support will be able to continue their activities as professional support specialists.
"It is extremely important to develop this area. Many young men and women return with severe concussions and PTSD. And just to apply for retirement, you have to go through a hellish bureaucratic process! It literally makes them shake," says Larysa Hlynchak. "Yes, some are accompanied by family members—their mother or wife—but that's more about moral support. A veteran needs someone by their side who understands all the intricacies of the system and how to navigate it to achieve a specific result."
Anastasia Bublikenko, wife of a veteran: "I've been through this once, so this is my mission."
Anastasia Bublikenko decided to radically change her profession in order to help those who defended our country in their transition from military service to civilian life.
Due to the full-scale invasion, she left her native Kherson with her young son. Her husband and brother joined the defense forces.
In her new community in the Kirovohrad region, she sought ways to be of service to the defenders. As a speech therapist, she began working with soldiers who had suffered concussions and strokes, helping them to restore or improve their speech functions.
When Anastasia's husband ended up in the hospital himself, and she later had to arrange guardianship for his mother, the speech therapist took it upon herself to prepare all the necessary documents and managed to do so, even though it was not easy.
So when she heard about the selection process for a support specialist position in the Hlodova community, she immediately applied.
"I've been through this before. I have a big mouth, as they say, I'm not afraid of anything, and I always go for it. I didn't know all the details of the job yet, but I knew it meant being a support for veterans, being the second closest person to them after their family. And I knew that this mission was just right for me," Anastasia smiles.
Anastasia Bublikenko, specialist in supporting veterans and demobilized persons in the Glodoska community of the Kirovograd region
"Good afternoon, from today I am your right hand."
Anastasia Bublikenko became the first specialist in supporting veterans in her community. She paid for her own training to become a specialist in supporting war veterans and demobilized persons at the University of Customs and Finance and immediately got to work.
"I spent two days reading the latest resolutions and laws. Then I collected the phone numbers of veterans and families of the deceased from the local authorities and started calling them. There were about 300 people," recalls Anastasia. "I didn't wait for them to come to me, I called and said, 'Good afternoon, I am Anastasia Oleksandrivna, a specialist in supporting veterans, and from today I am your right hand.'"
"Specialists need constant supervision"
After eight months on the job, Anastasia already has 55 cases under her belt. Despite constantly educating herself, she admits that it is difficult to keep track of all the legal changes.
"What we, as support specialists, are still definitely lacking is legal supervision. We need some kind of regular mentoring, assistance with legal issues, because they make up 80% of our work," she explains. "There are leading specialists who have a legal education, it is much easier for them, the rest sit down and read the laws of Ukraine, study, call the "Legal Hundred," this public organization helps us a lot."
In addition to legal knowledge, it is extremely important to master the skills of crisis psychological assistance, the specialist is convinced. In practice, this means being able to listen, calm people down, reduce tension, and only then tackle bureaucratic issues together.
Anastasia Bublikenko, a specialist in supporting veterans and demobilized persons, during a meeting with war veteran Vitaly Sherstenyuk. Photo provided by Anastasia
"Talk to them as if I had come to you."
"There was a case when a veteran came to me on the verge of a breakdown, making threats. I know that in such situations you can't gesticulate too much; you have to somehow divert the person's attention," Anastasia recalls one of her most difficult encounters with a veteran. "I have an hourglass on my desk, and I turned it over. I don't know if that helped, or if it was just that I listened to him for an hour without interrupting, but in the end, we moved on to a calm dialogue. But I would like to learn more skills on how to act in such situations."
Sometimes veterans initially reject a helping hand due to mistrust, accumulated irritation, and fatigue from bureaucracy. But eventually, they realize that they are not just dealing with someone who is better at paperwork, but someone who is truly ready to walk this path with them. And that is when trust is born, the specialist explains.
"When I first started working, my husband advised me, or rather asked me: 'Nastya, no matter what emotions people come to you with, talk to them as if I were the one who came to you.' That's what I do," Anastasia shares. "Our work is very difficult. But what a thrill it is for me when I manage to solve something for someone who risked everything for our country! I just feel like I'm flying, and I want to do even more."
Larysa Hylova, mother of a soldier: "Mom, this job is definitely for you."
Larysa Hylova is Anastasia's colleague from the Kharkiv region. She jokes that she was supporting defenders even before such a profession existed.
"My son has been at war since 2018. Well, there was no such support yet, but somehow the guys needed help," says Larisa. "Some had problems with their documents, some were not paid for their injuries. So I looked for information and helped them fill out the paperwork."
Larysa Hylova, the mother of a soldier, was one of the first to respond to the call for specialists to support veterans in the Lyubotyn community in the Kharkiv region. Photo from social media
Larysa worked for many years in social welfare, then in the local government of the Lyubotyn community, and for the last few years she has been recovering from a serious operation. But when she heard that the community needed people who could professionally support veterans and their families, she realized that she couldn't just sit at home.
"My son immediately said to me, 'Mom, this job is definitely for you. I already know everyone in various institutions. Whether it's calling the ministry or the TCC, it's not a problem for me," Larisa smiles.
Sometimes you just need to talk
Larysa Hylova currently has over 100 cases she is working on: these include war veterans, demobilized persons, and families of those killed or missing in action.
The requests vary greatly: some people are involved in a protracted process of sorting out their relationship with the military unit or the Military Medical Commission, some need advice on scholarships for their children's education, dental treatment under the state program, or simply someone to listen to them. "There are mothers who just need to talk," says the specialist. "Just as I sat at home alone, this mother sits at home alone, but she no longer has a son or doesn't know where he is. So they come to me just to talk. I introduce them to each other, put the kettle on, and we just talk."
Larysa Hylova (standing), a specialist in supporting veterans and demobilized persons, during a group meeting of veterans' families in the salt therapy room. Photo provided by Larysa.
It is easier to overcome all obstacles with specialists.
Larysa considers her main task to be to restore the faith of people who have returned from war that they are not alone with their problems.
"I know what these young men and women have been through. And they have survived. They are all heroes, but here, in civilian life, they cannot always stand up for themselves. They are often ready to give up or freak out, and our goal is to find solutions, no matter what the problem is. We are not omnipotent either, but with us it is easier to overcome all obstacles," says the specialist.
Today, support specialists provide assistance to veterans regardless of their place of residence or location. For example, Larysa Hylova is currently advising a veteran who has been undergoing treatment in Germany for two years and is awaiting surgery on how to apply for a pension. The specialist is convinced that everything will be resolved even at such a distance, as long as the veteran has received a step-by-step plan for preparing the necessary documents in a timely manner.
Trusting professional help is taking a step into a new life. Support specialists are there to help you get organized.
Where can you find support specialists?
In the Veteran PRO service in the Diya app. To do this, select "Find a specialist" and enter the community, full name, or region.
Or call the veteran policy department in your region and they will provide you with the contact details of a support specialist you can contact.
The "Opportunities for Veterans" information campaign is being implemented as part of a partnership between the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Reintegration Program, which is being implemented by IREX with the support of the U.S. Department of State.