At the age of 12, after losing her mother, Diana Kit ended up in a children’s shelter run by the Children’s Affairs Service of the Lviv Regional State Administration. Nine years later, she returned here, but in a new role. Today, Diana is directly involved in the transformation of the facility where she once lived.
A new municipal institution – the Lviv Regional Center for Social Support of Children and Families – is being created on the basis of the former shelter. It is a modern space where a child receives temporary support and shelter, while a team of qualified professionals works in parallel with their family. The main goal is to help overcome difficult life circumstances and do everything possible so that the child can grow up safely in a family setting.
Ridni Foundation actively supports the transformation of the care system, as it is part of the organization’s global mission to ensure the right of every child to grow up in a family. The creation of such hubs is a practical example of implementing the state Strategy, and the foundation acts as a reliable partner in bringing these changes to the regional level.
“For more than six years, Ridni Foundation has been implementing a model that places children and their families – not institutions – at the centre of support. Back in 2020, in partnership with the Lviv City Children’s Services, we opened our first Children and Family Support Centre. Since then, we have seen that lasting change is only possible when we address the root causes of family crises rather than their consequences. That is why support must be holistic: children receive a safe and nurturing environment, while families receive professional support to overcome difficult life circumstances.
Our experience shows that when families receive timely, high-quality support, far more children can remain safely with their families or return home as quickly as possible. It is this practical experience that we are now bringing to the creation of the new Children and Family Support Centre.”
Mariana Romaniak, Director of Ridni Foundation
The new centre is designed to help children return to their biological families as quickly as it is safe and appropriate, or, when reunification is not possible, to find a new safe family environment. The centre’s specialists will work with families to strengthen their resilience, build on their existing strengths and resources, and create the conditions for children to thrive within their families.
Children and Family Support Centres are an essential part of a modern child and family support system. The Coordination Centre for the Development of Family-Based Care and Child Care Reform supports the establishment of these centres across Ukraine. Active transformation efforts are already underway in Lviv and four other regions of the country.
