Resilient Families - Mentoring for Ukrainian Families

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Ukrainian families face a huge range of challenges. War has separated them from loved ones and has wrenched many parents and children from their homes and communities. They have experienced or witnessed violence, injury and bereavement. All have felt the impact of war.

"I felt joy returning
to my life"

Ukrainian Parent
Resilient Families participant
Resilient Family

Mentoring

Resilient Families is a mentoring programme enabling local churches to support Ukrainian families in their communities. Developed by children’s charity Viva, it offers excellent, evidence-based assistance that helps families to increase their capacity to cope.

Style of the sessions

Using simple questions and tools, the mentor works through 7 themes including communication, staying safe and thinking about grief. Each conversation is full of practical ideas and encouragement.

Mentoring conversations are designed to:

Affirm what’s going well and celebrate the achievements of children and parents

Support families to recognise the difficulties they face and opportunities for growth

Help parents identify simple, practical ways to make positive changes and become confident that they can cope with crisis and care for their children

Resources are flexible

Free resources and mentor training

Resilient Families can be used in person or online/over the phone.

Adaptable for use in groups or 1:1

Sessions for parents and children

Resources are available in Ukrainian, English and Russian languages.

View a sample resource

Preview the first theme "Theme 1: Talk about it – Parent’s conversation"

Free training for mentors

Our next training starts on Fri 16 June, online and in Ukrainian. If you have any questions or would like to sign up, please send a message using the contact form above. If you’re interested in training in English, please also contact us.

    Impact

    Read about the impact of Resilient Families.
    April 19, 2023
    Building resilience: helping Ukrainian families affected by the war

    ‘Witnessing the bombing had ruined their souls’ Anatoliy Sapsay, National Director Innovista Ukraine, on the emotional damage of the war When Svetlana* was told about the Resilient Families Programme she welled up with emotion, as she desperately needed someone to talk to about her sadness and anxiety. She is one of many remarkable Ukrainian women […]

    Read more
    March 9, 2023
    Victoria - stories from February 24

    The Resilient Families Project had a profound effect on them as a family. It enabled them to ‘speak out’ and not keep secret what they had been carrying for almost a year.

    Read more

    FAQs

    Who can be a mentor?

    Mentors don’t need to be counsellors or specialists, Resilient Families was designed for ordinary people to use to support others.

    Mentors need to have some time to give, be keen to listen and learn, patient, slow to judge and part of a local church who will support them as mentors.

    Is mentor training free?

    Yes. Our next training starts on Fri 16 June, online and in Ukrainian. If you have any questions or would like to sign up, please send a message using the contact form above. If you’re interested in training in English, please also contact us.

    What are the 7 conversations about?

    Theme 1. Talk about it (What’s changed?)
    Theme 2. Strong Families (How does our family communicate?)
    Theme 3. Mental health and resilience (How am I feeling?)
    Theme 4. Staying safe together (Being aware of dangers and strangers)
    Theme 5. Staying safe at home (When I get angry with my family)
    Theme 6. Learning together every day (Interrupted education)
    Theme 7. Thinking about grief and loss
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