Reintegration of war veterans through the creation of educational opportunities: One plus one

The project "Reintegration of war veterans through the creation of educational opportunities: One plus one" is implemented by the “Public Resources and Initiatives” Charity Foundation in partnership with DVV International in Ukraine with the financial support of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

#CivilSocietyCooperation

The project aims to support veterans, female veterans, and families of fallen Defenders in the Chernivtsi region by creating systemic educational opportunities, developing business initiatives, and facilitating social reintegration. Participants will be able to acquire a new profession, gain knowledge in entrepreneurship, attend training courses, and receive mentoring support. The project also provides business development grants, group and individual psychological assistance, and the creation of mutual support hubs.

Project Duration: 9 months (June 2025 – February 2026)

Project Goal:

To promote the social and economic reintegration of veterans and their family members in communities across the Chernivtsi region through professional training, retraining, development of entrepreneurial skills, psychological support, and enhanced social interaction with local communities.

Target Audience:

1. Combat veterans
2. Persons with war-related disabilities
3. Family members of combat veterans or persons with war-related disabilities, including:

• spouses (including widows/widowers) of fallen Defenders;
• children (including those of fallen Defenders);
• parents (including those of fallen Defenders)

residing in the city of Chernivtsi or the Chernivtsi region.

Key Project Components:

1. Educational Module:

• 3 short-term vocational retraining courses
• 2 business schools with mentoring support
• Individual and group consultations with business advisors on business idea development, business planning, business growth, etc.
• Career counseling on job search, CV writing, interview preparation, and retraining opportunities for veterans

2. Business Grants:

• Financial support through 6 microgrants to launch or expand individual business initiatives

3. Psychological Support:

• One-on-one psychological counseling sessions

4. Peer Support Communities:

• Creation of safe spaces for sharing experiences, exchanging ideas, and joint actions between veterans and local communities

5. Public Events:

• “Ideas and Opportunities” Forum
• Thematic roundtables aimed at improving societal understanding of veterans’ experiences

Main Project Results

Within the project, 372 people were reached, including veterans, women veterans, their family members, representatives of communities, local institutions, partner organizations, and other stakeholders.

The project combined several interconnected areas of support: research on the needs of veterans and women veterans, vocational training, development of entrepreneurial competencies, advisory and psychological support, mentoring, public dialogue, and the creation of an environment for cooperation and interaction.

At the beginning of the project, a study was conducted on the needs of veterans, women veterans, and their family members in Chernivtsi oblast. The study helped to better understand the current needs of the target audience in the areas of education, employment, entrepreneurship, psychological support, social adaptation, and access to services in communities.

Based on the collected information, a Map of Opportunities for Veterans, Women Veterans, and Their Family Members in Chernivtsi Oblast was prepared. It systematizes available educational, social, advisory, psychological, legal, career, entrepreneurial, and other support opportunities. The Map became a practical navigation tool for veterans and veterans’ families, as well as a useful resource for communities, partner organizations, and specialists working in the field of veteran policy.

Within the educational component, 45 veterans, women veterans, and their family members took part in vocational courses in three areas: massage, nail services, and accounting. The participants gained practical knowledge and skills needed for further employment, self-employment, or starting their own businesses, and received certificates of professional training upon completion of the courses.

30 veterans and women veterans joined the business school. The participants received not only training, but also practical support in developing business ideas, preparing business plans, searching for professional opportunities, and defining further educational or career pathways. As a result of a competitive selection process, 6 participants received microgrants to start or develop their own businesses. This made it possible to support specific veteran business initiatives and strengthen the economic self-reliance of the participants.

Advisory services formed a separate area of the project. Participants had the opportunity to receive individual and group consultations from business consultants, career advisors, vocational guidance specialists, and psychological support professionals. The consultations helped participants move from a general request for support to specific solutions: choosing training opportunities, preparing CVs, planning employment, developing or improving business ideas, preparing to present business plans, and further developing their own businesses.

Public events were also an important part of the project. The Forum of Ideas and Opportunities created a space for dialogue between veterans, women veterans, their families, representatives of communities, businesses, educational institutions, public authorities, and civil society. During the Forum, participants discussed educational, professional, entrepreneurial, and social opportunities for veterans and women veterans, as well as the role of communities in creating conditions for their reintegration.

The final roundtable made it possible to summarize the project results, discuss the identified challenges, needs, and developed solutions, and outline further steps for strengthening systematic support for veterans, women veterans, and their family members in Chernivtsi oblast.

The project showed that effective reintegration cannot be achieved through one-time activities or isolated educational opportunities alone. A multi-component model works best — one that combines education, practical skills, entrepreneurship, mentoring, advisory and psychological support, and partnerships with communities, employment centers, departments of veteran and social policy, veteran organizations, and other stakeholders.

The project also confirmed that reintegration is experienced not only by a veteran or woman veteran, but by the whole family. That is why support for family members, the creation of an environment of trust, and the development of mutual support communities became an important part of the project approach.

Project Partner:

Mykhailo Ivasyuk Chernivtsi Regional Universal Scientific Library