The foundation has long been taking care of collective living centers in Lviv, Lviv Oblast, and other regions. Our volunteers were the first to create a database of free accommodations at the beginning of the invasion, which was used by volunteers at the train station, shared in chats and other organizations, and also established cooperation and coordination between the shelters and evacuations across Ukraine and abroad.
Throughout this time, we nurtured the idea of creating our own shelter. The time came in the fall of 2022 when most existing shelters closed (especially those in educational institutions and private offices, salons, and gyms where classes/work resumed), and a cold winter, blackout, and new evacuation waves were looming ahead.
We are grateful to the Lviv Regional Administration, which immediately believed in our capabilities and responded. We were given the use of an abandoned building of a former polyclinic, which needed renovation. For several months, the foundation searched for partners, finalized contract signings, but also, during this time, independently carried out dismantling, waste removal, and other preparations for the premises.
In truth, our shelter is a testament to the unity of a large number of very different people for a common purpose. Because everyone responded as they could, from building materials, furniture, plumbing, electricity, or a generator to garden furniture, flower seedlings, clothing, food, and hygiene for the first residents.
And it’s also a piece of every volunteer who supported us with tireless work (sometimes late into the night), donations, creative ideas, and sometimes just sandwiches for lunch. Forever, our friend became an Australian who stayed to work for several weeks. He said
“Ukrainians, like this old building – worth cleaning the plaster, and there is a strong, solid foundation underneath.”
And there were also Swedes, Poles, Americans who organized logistics and helped with internal work, and the geography of our friends does not end there. Whole families came to clean, plant flower beds, collect furniture, most of them were also internally displaced persons who once sought refuge in Lviv.
We opened our doors on 06.06.2023, and we can confidently say that our Support and Protection Center is created by People for People with love.