"The Social Taxi and Social Services" project in the Kupiansk district
24-01-2024 · 7 min for reading
The "Social taxi and social services" project is an initiative aimed at improving access to necessary services for residents of the Kupyan district of the Kharkiv region.
Despite the liberation of Kharkiv Oblast in September 2022, the city of Kupyansk still remains within 15 km of the demarcation line, which makes this area particularly dangerous and vulnerable. Due to constant shelling, the restoration of normal social services in the district remains impossible.
The project was implemented from June 21, 2023 to December 29, 2023. The financing of the project was carried out with the support of USAID, which allowed us to provide a wide range of social services for the residents of Kupyan district. The project involves 25 specialists, 9 of whom have specialized education in medicine, psychology and jurisprudence. This staff provided residents with quality and professional services.
Participants of the project were all strata of the population living in close proximity to the front line. The number of beneficiaries of the project was 1,463 people who had the opportunity to use the much-needed assistance. As part of improving the quality of qualified care, stationary points and a mobile group of medical consultants were created in three cities of the Kupyan community to support residents with reduced mobility.
In the course of negotiations with local authorities, stationary points were located in the cities of Kupyansk, Kupyansk-Vuzlovy and Kivsharivka, which provided services and consultations to residents who did not have the opportunity to receive quality assistance in their own locations. Inpatient facilities provided access to medical services, psychological support, social assistance and other types of necessary support. Experienced specialists worked here and are ready to help anyone who asks for help.
During the duration of the project, the residents of the Kupyan community received services that included a medical consultant (therapist), a psychologist and a lawyer (one psychologist and a medical consultant for each inpatient facility and one lawyer for all three facilities, a total of 7 persons). Each stationary point during the entire project worked three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) providing quality help and support. During the implementation of the project, each stationary point provided an average of about 1,300 consultations.
Also, as part of the project, regular social bus flights were introduced on the route Kivsharivka - Kupyansk-Vuzlovy - Kupyansk - Shevchenkove - Kharkiv. The social taxi ran from 08:00 to 18:00 twice a week. Social taxi services have allowed the local population to receive urgent and basic services unavailable in the area, including document recovery, visits to inpatient hospitals, solving social issues in government institutions and visiting banks. During the implementation of the project, more than 1,000 people used the services of the social taxi.
In addition, for six months, with the help of a specially equipped car with two medical consultants, field consultations were carried out in the cities of Kupyansk, Kupyansk-Vuzlovy and Kivsharivka to provide assistance to people with limited mobility and bedridden people who needed specialized care.
A team of specialists provided medical assistance to people with limited mobility directly at their place of residence. This initiative was aimed at ensuring access to quality medical care for those who have limited ability to get to a medical facility on their own. A team of specialists conducted the necessary examinations, provided treatment and consultations, helped in the management of chronic diseases and, in case of emergency situations, hospitalized people in the city hospital of Kharkiv.