The eighth meeting of the Working Group on Public Safety and Recovery was held in the Vysokopillia community. Representatives of the military administration, village council, police, local fire brigade, municipal institutions, public organizations, village elders, and UNDP discussed various issues.
The overall security situation in the community allows for the planning and implementation of more strategic initiatives and social cohesion projects.
According to the police report, the criminal situation in the community has improved since the last meeting: the number of crimes against property (theft and fraud) has decreased, although the number of cases of domestic violence and road accidents has increased. No shelling or damage to houses has been recorded.
Currently, the community is implementing three initiatives with the support of UNDP:
- organization of road safety and road infrastructure in the community with the purchase of more than 60 road signs and traffic limiters,
- expansion of the warning system,
- repair and arrangement of the resource center.
The meeting additionally discussed the issue of cooperation between public organizations of the Vysokopillia and Velykooleksandrivka communities to participate in a new UNDP grant competition to develop new public spaces.
The working group participants also discussed the needs of the community, in particular: the development of shelters (including modular shelters for a modular town for IDPs), the development of safety classes in educational institutions, the repair and development of resource centers in each elder's district, the development of children's and sports grounds, the development of sanitary zones near wells, ensuring barrier-free access to social institutions, support for veterans, the creation of shelters for victims of domestic violence, the installation of additional road signs and traffic limiters, training in first aid and mine safety for youth, etc.
The results of a qualitative study of the migration attitudes of Kherson region residents abroad, which was commissioned by the Union Foundation with the support of UNDP Ukraine, were presented at the WGPSR. We discussed further steps to develop a strategy for returning internally displaced persons and their involvement in community life.
As a reminder, the WGPSR in the communities was created in the summer 2023 by orders of the heads of the military administrations within the framework of the initiative "Kherson region: public safety and recovery in conditions of change", implemented by the "Union" Foundation with the assistance of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine with the financial support of the Government of Denmark.
