An Account of Aiding the Most Vulnerable Communities in Ukraine

Olena Shevchenko is a leading campaigner and activist for female and LGBTQ rights in Ukraine. In 2008 she founded the NGO called Insight to support this cause and is now focused on assisting women and children with the new challenges such as safe relocation  as a result of the Russian invasion. Two shelters in Lviv have been established to house women along with members of the LGBTQ community as an immediate response to the war.

Olena travels throughout Ukraine to help the most vulnerable members of society who are increasingly lacking access to basic resources like food and water for survival.

Her organization  is completely focused on delivering humanitarian needs like relocation from occupied cities to more safe areas in the west and surrounding nations, with partners who can offer care including a partnership with Airbnb which provides one month of free and safe accommodation in various cities throughout Europe.

There are currently 35 Ukrainian volunteers working in Lviv who have been displaced from their homes, but find themselves in a position to help other Ukrainians through Olena's organization.

A major affect the Russian invasion has had on the LGBTQ community is an increased general fear of Russia occupying Ukraine and the potential for torture and hate crimes directed toward their sexual orientation. This is not an unfounded fear since this is exactly what happened in the Crimea after Russia invaded in 2014 and Olena herself has been threatened with violence by pro-Russia groups in Ukraine.

Olena's organization is increasingly using social media platforms like Telegram and Facebook in order to offer essential help like mental health services and to generally unite and ensure solidarity between this vulnerable community. Most remarkable is that despite the extreme danger Olena and her marginalized community faces, she has no plans on leaving her beloved Ukraine for in her words, "somebody needs to stay."

 

Source: The Telegram-Ukraine The Latest