As part of the “Family at the Center” program, running from July 1 to December 31, 2026, at least 2,500 people affected by the consequences of the war in Ukraine will receive psychological, therapeutic, and rehabilitation support.
Addressing Anxiety, Trauma, and Exhaustion
Ukrainian families continue to face the psychological consequences of war, including anxiety, trauma, prolonged stress, and mental exhaustion. Veterans returning from the front also require specialized support as they adjust to life away from combat. A program implemented by Caritas Poland in cooperation with its local partner, Caritas-Spes Ukraine, is designed to address these challenges.
The initiative continues to operate through four specialized Family Support Centres located in Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, Odesa, and Kamianets-Podilskyi. The centres provide assistance to people experiencing the effects of war and help families cope with the changes brought about by separation, displacement, combat, and the return of family members from the front.
Rebuilding a Sense of Security
The centres combine crisis intervention, psychological therapy, rehabilitation, and psychoeducation. Their aim is to help people regain a sense of security and restore emotional and psychological balance after experiences that can profoundly affect both individuals and family relationships
Support is tailored to the specific circumstances and needs of each person and family. Adults who carry a heavy caregiving burden can participate in parenting-skills workshops and support groups. The programme also organizes monthly open integration events known as “Family Day,” providing families with an opportunity to meet others facing similar challenges and strengthen their social support networks.
Participants also receive specially developed educational and therapeutic materials designed to help them better understand the psychological and relational consequences of war.
Rebuilding Family Relationships After Separation
The impact of war does not end when a veteran returns home. Prolonged separation and the experience of combat can alter family roles and expectations, sometimes creating new tensions between partners, parents, and children.
“Roles within the family change during separation and require conscious renegotiation. Otherwise, it’s easy to feel hurt on both sides. One of the main risk factors is a sense of isolation. It can lead to suicide. Therefore, support must be provided not only to the veteran but also to their immediate circle,” says Nina Mocior, a Caritas Poland expert on humanitarian and development aid.
The programme therefore takes a family-centred approach, recognizing that the psychological consequences of war affect not only those who have experienced combat directly, but also their partners, children, parents, and other close relatives.
Support for Veterans and Their Families
The “Family at the Center” programme includes 300 individual services for at least 60 veterans, as well as five seven-day therapeutic and rehabilitation camps for 100 participants, including veterans and their family members.
The programme also seeks to strengthen access to specialized services. At least 600 people will be included in a professional referral system connecting them with specialists in medicine, psychiatry, and legal assistance.
This approach is intended to ensure that people facing complex problems can access the appropriate form of assistance rather than relying on a single type of support.
Building a Multi-Layered Support System
In August 2026, Nina Mocior visited the Family Support Centres in Ukraine, where she conducted specialized training for psychologists and other staff working with people affected by war-related trauma.
As she emphasizes, effective assistance requires cooperation between different levels of the support system.
“An effective support system cannot be based on a single institution or on working with a single person in isolation, but on several collaborating levels, creating a system: regional clinical assistance, economic support, local hubs as the first line of contact, and, above all, work with the entire family,” Mocior says.
The programme consequently combines professional psychological and clinical assistance with local support structures and services addressing practical needs. The aim is to create a network capable of responding to the different challenges faced by war-affected families.
Supporting a New Family Reality
The objective of programmes such as “Family at the Center” is not simply to “return” veterans to the lives they led before the war. Instead, the programme focuses on helping veterans and their families integrate the experience of war into a new reality and develop a new sense of identity and family relationships.
For many families, this means learning to navigate changes that began during separation and continued after the veteran’s return. Psychological support is therefore combined with rehabilitation, family work, education, and access to specialist services.
A team of 40 specialists and 12 support workers operating across the four centres is involved in providing assistance to people in need.
Through this network, Caritas Poland and Caritas-Spes Ukraine seek to ensure that support reaches not only veterans and people directly affected by trauma, but also the families and communities around them.
The implementation of the project is supported by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Photo credit: vskvsk1, pixabay.com
Family News Service / Piotr Kowalczuk