War is a time when everyone needs support and help. But today it is worth paying the most attention to those who are unable to protect themselves. In particular, we are talking about people with disabilities. In this article, we will talk about the difficulties such Ukrainians face today and how we can help them.

Why is helping people with disabilities so important?

Even in peacetime, people with disabilities needed help from the state. For a comfortable stay in every city and town, the authorities installed ramps, special descents to the subway, elevators for trolleys, equipped transport with special platforms for driving in and introduced a social taxi. But similar, seemingly basic things began to be installed en masse only in the last few years. And with the deployment of a full-scale war by Russian troops, the situation became complicated again. Now citizens with disabilities are not only left without some devices for convenient transportation, but also have lost a sense of their own security.

The fact is that such people cannot calmly leave a dangerous region or go down to a shelter - they need the help of outsiders. This does not apply to every Ukrainian with a disability, but certainly to many of them.

Another acute problem is insufficient financial support. The state continues to calculate benefits for people with disabilities, but many of them today have lost additional sources of income. Everyone knows the difficulties that people with disabilities experience when looking for work. Today, when a significant number of employers have just begun to resume their activities in territories free from occupation, vacancies are increasing, but not significantly. Greater demand is created by temporary migrants who arrive in the above-mentioned regions, fleeing hostilities. In a word, jobs are literally “flying away”.

Many people with disabilities in peacetime counted on the help of close and caring neighbors. It could be a request to throw out trash, buy groceries, or pay a store fee. Today, someone left the country or moved closer to the west, changed their area of residence due to the presence of critical infrastructure nearby that can be targeted by enemies, or went to the front. Therefore, it may also be the case that the person who needs help is left completely alone.

How to help people with disabilities?

If you have the opportunity and desire to help - do it today! Pay a visit to a retired neighbor in a wheelchair and ask if she/he needs anything you could buy on your way to the store. Or visit a children's physiological rehabilitation center where children with disabilities live. Children, just like adults, also need attention and care.

In many cities of Ukraine, there are entire volunteer staffs engaged in a wide variety of social areas. They always actively collect funds, clothes and food for those in need. Joining such an initiative is simple, it is enough to find the contacts of the headquarters you need in the network.

A universal method of assistance for caring citizens is a donation. Regular sending of funds for the needs of the army and the most vulnerable categories of people should become a habit of every adult able-bodied Ukrainian. The charity foundation “Pryame Vklyuchennya” also helps the population affected by the war. In the “HELP” section of this site, you can find details for sending funds. Remember that every contribution, even the smallest, can save someone's life!