Open Space Works Ukraine Launches a Study on the Ecosystem of Support for Veterans and Their Families

The team of Open Space Works Ukraine (OSWU), with the support of Pro Peace Ukraine, announces the start of a comprehensive study on the ecosystem of support for veterans and their families in Ukraine.

Following the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of servicewomen and servicemen are returning to civilian life. Along with them, their families and loved ones are facing complex challenges, including physical and psychological recovery, job search, social adaptation, and reestablishing daily life.

Although Ukraine already has numerous initiatives aimed at helping veterans, there is still no comprehensive picture of how these organizations interact, what resources they have, and where gaps in assistance exist.

“For ProPeace, this study is not about numbers, it’s about people. Behind every statistic is a veteran, a family, a story of resilience or struggle. We want to listen to these voices and turn them into a clear picture that shows what works, what fails, and what must change. Our hope is that this research becomes a bridge toward a stronger and more compassionate support system for veterans across Ukraine.” — Toni Tancevski, Project Manager, Pro Peace Ukraine". 

Research Goals and Objectives

The study aims to create a comprehensive picture of the support system and develop practical recommendations for its improvement. The main objectives include:

- Mapping key state, civil society, veteran, and informal structures providing psychosocial and reintegration support

- Analyzing the strengths, limitations, and needs of organizations and professionals working in the support sector

- Examining the experiences and needs of female and male veterans and their families to assess how well services meet actual needs

- Developing practical recommendations to enhance coordination, effectiveness, and accessibility of services

Research Geography

The study will cover the entire territory of Ukraine, with a special focus on major cities, including Kyiv, Lviv, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Odesa, and Dnipro, as well as smaller communities such as Myrhorod (Poltava Oblast) and Chemerivtsi (Khmelnytskyi Oblast).

The following groups are invited to participate in the study:

- Representatives of government bodies and social services

- Leaders and staff of NGOs, veteran and family initiatives, and volunteer associations

- Female and male veterans of various ages and backgrounds, their family members, and volunteers

Contact Person:

Maryana Zaviyska  

Email: zaviyska@openspace.works  

Phone: +380 93 665 50 97

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Open Space Works Ukraine (OSWU) – https://openspace.works/ – is an enterprise for social change, founded in 2016. Since 2022, it has expanded its activities to the field of humanitarian research. The organization strives to provide humanitarian organizations and civil society actors with evidence-based support to strengthen local leadership in humanitarian response in Ukraine.

Pro Peace Ukraine - https://www.propeace.de/en/ukraine/ – an international non-governmental organization founded in 1996, working in conflict transformation in 11 countries. In Ukraine, Pro Peace collaborates with civil society, community-level initiatives, experts, the academic community, government authorities, the arts community, and individuals involved in peacebuilding and transformational processes. The organization supports the development of peace education, local conflict monitoring, the use of art for social change, new approaches to communication, and work with historical memory.