It’s not the first time that the NGO “SOS Civil Aid Headquarters” has visited the Nursing Home in Cherche for the elderly and disabled people. This event is unique for Ukraine because it includes comprehensive assistance from medical professionals and  gerontopsychologists. The emotional support is given from the soloists and choristers of the veterans’ choir “Kvitka na Kameni.”

The residents of the facility constantly require medical care, but there’s an issue in the village of Cherche where patients have to be transported to Chemerivtsi or Kamianets-Podilsky for medical examinations and tests. So this time, the patients didn’t have to leave nursing home because the specialists from the “Na Sobornyi” Rehabilitation Center have visited them to conduct all necessary examinations.

Every day, the staff of the nursing home does everything possible to make the residents’ stay as comfortable as possible, as they have nowhere else to go. Usually, the resources of such facilities, like the Cherchetsky Nursing Home, are limited and primarily used for urgent daily needs. Professional psychological support is not usually part of the list. However, it is undoubtedly important for the residents, who belong to an extremely vulnerable and unprotected category. The gerontopsychology team conducted group sessions to identify the main issues and determine who needs individual help. In addition to the permanent residents of the nursing home, 26 veterans who suffered from the war entered the facility, and psychological support is crucial for them as well.

The performance by the “Kvitka na Kameni” ensemble was a gift and source of joy on this eventful day for both the residents of nursing home and the team of specialists.

Psychological and medical assistance, as well as psychosocial support, in the Nursing Home in Cherche are provided within the framework of the “SOS Care 60+” project, implemented by the NGO “SOS Civil Aid Headquarters” with the financial support of the international organization “HelpAge” (https://www.helpage.org/global-network/eurasia-and-the-middle-east/eastern-europe/ukraine/).