The Community Social Work Centre and Social Work Hub Kamianets-Podilskyi Province
This is a joint initiation between IFSW, the administration and the communities of the district of Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine. The project will establish a Community Social Work Centre and Social Work Hub (forerunner to a National Association of Social Workers).
The Kamianets-Podilskyi district’s population has nearly grown 50% this year as internally displaced people have escaped the front line of the war, which is 500 kilometres away. The additional 30’000 refugees, combined with the near collapse of the economy, trauma and the closure of many public systems have resulted in multiple and critical social challenges. IFSW has been invited by the district president and communities to provide assistance and guidance in managing social challenges under war conditions and to develop plans for better than before social protection systems as the county rebuilds when peace is established.
The partnership identifies that the work carried out in the description is a pilot for the rest of Ukraine. It is anticipated that this work will be monitored by the country’s other regions and upon success will be replicated nationally. The concepts developed here are based on other transformational social work activities based in other war countries such as Yemen, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and El Salvador and as it is developed in the Kamianets-Podilskyi district it will make significant contributions to global knowledge on advancing social protection in war and post-war conditions.
Within this partnership, the Community Social Work Centre rooms have already been secured. The Centre will occupy parts of the ground floor and the entire 3rd floor of the centrally located district council building.
The founding values of the Community Social Work Centre include recognizing the strengths of all people in the community to solve problems; that by communities actively working together the effects of trauma are significantly reduced, and for sustainable and effective social development to take place, communities need to experience ownership of their Community Centre and its activities.
The founding values of the Social Work Hub include working with and co-learning within the networks and structures of IFSW. We aim professionalism in accordance with the IFSW Global Statement of Ethical Principles. To be a model of cutting-edge social work development in the context of practice under war and post-war conditions.
Concrete actions of the Community Social Work Centre will include:
- To provide local management of the Centre as described above;
- To develop a skills/resources stock takes (audits) in the community that highlight the potential for business development, social protection and community cohesion;
- Facilitating community social and economic projects;
- Supporting the Integration of social protection services, medical, educational, financial and social;
- Helping adults and children recovering from trauma through developing children’s programmes, adult groups, social education and respite care;
- Empowering women to acquire the necessary skills to fill the vacancies left by men that were drafted in the army and facilitate community daycare services for woman that want to work;
- Providing support of widows;
- Supporting the reconnection of families when soldiers return to their families;
- To provide monthly reports to the district authorities and IFSW that include a social diagnostic assessment.
- To liaise with investors and monitor projects in accordance with the social investor’s agreed on terms.
The aims of the Social Work Hub are:
- Establish a place of training for social work practitioners;
- Grow the profession in Ukraine;
- Be an actor in the reconstruction of Ukraine society;
- To provide outreach social services such as supporting vulnerable populations, eg, the elderly; refugees, and people differently-abled, across the wider district;
- To facilitate community social and economic capacity building, eg social enterprises;
- To develop policies and proposals to the district authorities on strengthening social protections systems;
- To develop contacts with social workers across the country with the view to co-building a National Association of Social Workers
