Vitaliy Kim emphasizes the need to update approaches to supporting IDPs

Vitaliy Kim, Head of Mykolaiv Oblast Military Administration, in his publication on "Glavkom", proposed strengthening the state support system for internally displaced persons, UNN reports.

Kim's main idea is not to view IDPs, especially in frontline territories, as subjects of social services or a "burden" for the state. But on the contrary - as an "opportunity", strategic human capital, necessary potential for the economic stability of communities and the reconstruction of the country.

"Today, there are about 4.5–4.6 million registered internally displaced persons in Ukraine, but the communities along the front line face the greatest burden. They simultaneously experience regular shelling, suffer infrastructural and personnel losses, host hundreds of thousands of people, and yet manage to ensure the stability of social, medical, and educational systems. According to statistics, every fifth resident of a frontline community is a displaced person. And these are people who not only need housing or payments. These are potential doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs. That is, the human capital without which the economic stability of frontline territories is impossible," the official emphasized.

He listed the main problems faced by IDPs in frontline regions. Among them: housing, work, education, personnel depletion, and mental health. And he proposed a comprehensive and global approach to solving these issues. As an example, he cited the successful experience of Mykolaiv Oblast, where 100 temporary and social housing facilities were created, more than 75 modular houses were installed, and a network of eight Resilience Centers operates, which provided more than 10 thousand psychological services.

"Within the framework of the Association of Frontline Cities and Communities, we have formulated the following position: frontline regions need a separate, special regime of support for internally displaced persons. This is not about preferences, but about the real conditions that people need. It is necessary to move from a universal approach to a segmented support policy that takes into account the reality of frontline regions. An important step is a separate direction of IDP support within the proposed Fund for the Support of Frontline Territories. Its task is to finance housing, reconstruct places of compact residence, create shelters, and support infrastructure that saves lives and creates conditions for people to stay," said the head of Mykolaiv Oblast.

A separate block he focused on is the "Housing + Work for IDPs" program. Its logic is as follows: housing should be directly linked to work. If a person works in a critically important area - medicine, education, social services - it is necessary to provide them with official or affordable housing.

"Strengthening psychological support is also needed, and the issue of social adaptation of older people and people with disabilities in host communities is also important. In addition, there is a need to transition to a 'single window' model for obtaining all social services. All these decisions give the state an obvious strategic effect: they contribute to retaining people in frontline regions, help preserve human resources here, stabilize local economies, reduce dependence on humanitarian aid, and form a new model of regional resilience, at the foundation of which are people, not temporary support measures," Vitaliy Kim stated.