On June 30, 2025, the second module of the project “Organization and Creation of the Polish-Ukrainian Psychological and Medical Center named after Witelon and Ivan Franko” was completed, which was implemented in cooperation between the Association “Academic Community” (Republic of Poland) and Drohoych Ivan Franko Drohobych State Pedagogical University. The initiative was implemented within the framework of the “Polish Aid 2024” competition funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. The total amount of funding was PLN 600,000.
The project consists of two modules. The first (June–December 2024) provided for organizational measures, renovation and adaptation of premises for the Center. In the second module (January–June 2025), the Center was provided with technical equipment, and advisory and educational activities were launched. The main goal of the project was to improve access to high-quality psychological support for students, university employees, and numerous internally displaced persons who settled in Drohobych due to the war.
Within the framework of the second module, three functional zones of the Center were fully equipped: psychological, medical, and rehabilitation. The psychological zone is equipped for individual and group classes, art therapy, sand therapy, emotional support, and is also provided with tablets with licenses for the TippyTalk application for alternative communication. The medical zone is equipped with simulators, defibrillators, tonometers, and other equipment for first aid and training. The rehabilitation area includes sports equipment, exercise machines, boxing equipment, sensory bags, massage and fitness equipment, as well as shower and toilet rooms for people with disabilities.
In accordance with the project objectives, a series of training sessions were conducted. 25 internally displaced persons participated in the training “Psychological support and reduction of emotional stress”, 35 teachers in the “Psychological minutes”, 52 participants in the first aid course, including students and teachers from local schools. A total of 112 people were involved, 102 training hours were conducted. In addition, the Center’s specialists provided 35 individual psychological consultations.
The Center’s information activity included creation of the website (https://pluacenter.dspu.edu.ua), design of brochures with advice on self-help and first aid, organization of extensive coverage of the activity on social networks, preparation of videos and video courses for various audiences: “Help yourself: basics of psycho-emotional support”, “Psychological minutes: working with children”, “Providing first aid”. At the time of the project’s completion, the Center had already been actively functioning. From September 2025 on more than 150 students of the specialties “Psychology”, “Social work” and “Speech therapy” will be undergoing training on the TippyTalk platform. Field training sessions are also planned in the schools in the Drohobych community. In the future, it will be expanded to the internship program for students from Ukraine and Poland.
The implementation of the project has demonstrated high demand for the Center’s services, active involvement of target groups and a steady trend of increasing applications. The project has had a lasting positive impact on both individual beneficiaries and the entire community. The center functions as a full-fledged space for rehabilitation, integration, psycho-emotional recovery and competence development. Its resources are actively used by teachers, psychologists, students, volunteers and specialists. Thanks to the Polish-Ukrainian partnership, the project has become an example of effective international cooperation in response to humanitarian challenges. Its results confirm the achievement of the strategic goal – providing affordable assistance to at least 13,000 people.
The project was financed from the state budget within the framework of the Polish Development Program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.
Funding amount: PLN 600,000.00.
Competition: “Polska Pomoc 2024”. www.gov.pl/polishaid
