Representatives of the Kherson Regional Charitable Foundation "Union", along with other delegates from the Kherson region, participated in a high-level event dedicated to the reintegration and support of veterans at the community level, held on September 11 in Kyiv.
The event brought together representatives from the Ukrainian government, the diplomatic corps, international partners, the veteran community, and civil society organizations. A highlight of the program was an excerpt from the one-person play "One-Day Hero" — part of the "Veterans' Theater" project from Kherson — followed by a discussion on the role of art, civic engagement, and local communities in facilitating veterans' return to civilian life.
The event took place within the framework of EU4Recovery, a partnership between the European Union and UNDP co-financed by the Government of Sweden. As emphasized during the event, veteran reintegration should be viewed not merely as a matter of providing specific services, but as an integral part of community recovery and long-term resilience. UNDP also identifies support for veteran reintegration as a cross-cutting component of its work with communities during the second phase of EU4Recovery.
For the Union Foundation, this topic represents a continuation of its systematic work with communities in the Kherson region. In the summer of 2026, the Foundation’s team facilitated strategic sessions to implement veteran policies across Kherson communities. During these sessions, local government officials, veteran support specialists, members of the veteran community, civil society organizations, and other local institutions collaboratively assessed community readiness for the return of veterans, evaluated existing service systems, and explored potential coordination mechanisms.
This work is also being carried out within the framework of community engagement working groups, coordinated by the Foundation with UNDP support across six communities in the Kherson region. Current discussions within these groups focus on establishing community-level coordination mechanisms for veteran reintegration. The goal is to ensure that various services and institutions—including veteran support, social services, healthcare, administration, education, law enforcement, and civil society organizations—do not operate in isolation but instead collaborate to address the specific needs of each individual.
A distinct area of focus will be fostering communication and mutual understanding within communities. In the near future, the Union Foundation, with UNDP support, plans to launch a course titled "How to Communicate During Wartime" for participants from the target communities. The course aims to foster a better understanding of the diverse wartime experiences of individuals—including veterans—and to mitigate the risks of stigmatization, conflict, and misunderstanding within communities.
The reintegration of veterans is increasingly becoming a matter of a community's own capacity: specifically, its readiness to welcome individuals back after their service, coordinate available services, respond to complex cases, and create opportunities for veterans to participate in local life.
For this reason, the Union Foundation views veteran-related policy as an integral part of its broader efforts to advance community safety, social cohesion, and community recovery in the Kherson region.
