CHILDREN OF HEROES OF UKRAINE FOUNDATION

Our support model is built around the understanding that losing a parent during war affects every area of a child’s life. Children may simultaneously face grief and trauma, displacement, financial hardship, interrupted education, health challenges, and the loss of stability and security.

For this reason, Children of Heroes provides comprehensive, long-term and individualized support rather than one-time assistance. Every family remains connected to the Foundation, while the type and intensity of support evolve according to the child’s and family’s changing needs.

Our main areas of support include:

1) Psychological Support and Socialization

Early psychological support is critical for children experiencing parental loss and the ongoing effects of war. Our psychologists work with children and their guardians to address grief, trauma, anxiety, emotional instability, sleep and concentration difficulties, adaptation challenges, and other consequences of traumatic experiences.

Our psychological support includes:

individual psychological counseling;
psychological support groups;
art therapy;
psychoeducational support for children and guardians;
specialized psychological and recovery programs;
consultations with child psychiatrists when needed;
psychological support integrated into camps and socialization activities.

The Foundation currently works with a multidisciplinary psychological team experienced in addressing the consequences of traumatic events and bereavement.

Socialization is an important part of recovery. We organize camps, group activities, educational and recreational events where children can build friendships, develop communication and teamwork skills, discover new interests, and spend time in a safe environment with peers who have experienced similar loss.

Our goal is not only to reduce psychological distress, but also to help children regain confidence, develop healthy coping skills, experience belonging, and reconnect with childhood.

2) Family Case Management

Family Case Management is at the core of our long-term support model. Families remain connected to the Foundation from their first contact and throughout the child’s journey toward adulthood.

A specialist assesses the family’s situation across multiple areas, including the child’s health, education and psychological state, as well as housing conditions and the family’s financial capacity. Based on this assessment, an individualized support plan can be developed.

Our specialists coordinate access to psychological, medical, educational, humanitarian and other forms of assistance through a single point of contact. Families therefore do not have to navigate multiple programs or search for help independently.

Complex and urgent cases receive intensive case management, while stable families continue to receive support through family support specialists, digital tools and community resources. The intensity of support can change as the family’s circumstances change, but the connection with the Foundation remains.

The program also allows us to identify emerging crises early. When a family faces an urgent medical need, loss of income, housing difficulties or another serious challenge, our team can assess the situation and coordinate an appropriate response before the problem develops into a deeper crisis.

This continuous relationship ensures that no child falls through the gaps between individual programs and that support remains personalized, timely and responsive to real needs.

3) Education and Development

Years of war, displacement, air raid alerts, power outages and interrupted schooling have created significant learning losses for Ukrainian children. For children who have also lost a parent, these challenges are compounded by grief, anxiety, relocation and financial hardship.

Our Education and Development program helps children close learning gaps, strengthen their academic skills, regain confidence and prepare for future education and careers.

Educational support includes:

tutoring in mathematics and Ukrainian language;
foreign language learning;
STEM and programming courses;
preparation for Ukraine’s National Multi-Subject Test (NMT);
school-readiness programs;
career guidance and career-development initiatives;
educational and developmental activities;
access to laptops, tablets and other devices necessary for learning;
school supplies and other educational resources.

We aim not only to help children improve their current academic performance, but also to develop skills that expand their future opportunities.

International Educational Opportunities

An important part of our educational work is giving children access to international academic environments that would otherwise be beyond the reach of many families.

The Foundation organizes educational trips and learning programs in the United Kingdom and the United States. These experiences allow teenagers to strengthen their English through immersion, experience different educational environments, meet teachers, mentors, students and admissions representatives, and explore possible academic and career pathways.

Children have had opportunities to visit and learn about institutions including Harvard University, Harvard Business School, MIT, Yale University, University College London and the University of St Andrews, as well as leading schools and educational institutions in the United Kingdom.

These are not simply recreational trips. They are designed as an extension of our long-term educational support: broadening children’s horizons, strengthening their ambitions, developing independence and helping them understand that high-quality international education can become a realistic goal.

The impact continues after children return home. Participants have gone on to pursue international educational opportunities, including studies at Penn School, applications to Ukraine Global Scholars and university-preparation programs in the United States.

4) Medical Care

For a family that has lost one of its primary caregivers or income earners, unexpected medical expenses can quickly become a serious financial burden. Our Medical Care program helps vulnerable children receive necessary healthcare without forcing their families to choose between treatment and other essential needs.

Medical support may include:

medical insurance;
doctor consultations;
diagnostic examinations;
outpatient treatment;
inpatient treatment and hospitalization;
medication;
rehabilitation;
reimbursement or coverage of eligible medical expenses;
targeted support for urgent and complex medical cases.

Through our medical insurance program, children can receive access to consultations, diagnostics, treatment, medication and other services covered by their policies.

For children whose needs extend beyond standard insurance coverage, the Foundation also works with partners and donors to address individual medical cases and necessary rehabilitation or treatment.

Our goal is both to respond to urgent health needs and to prevent medical problems from becoming more serious simply because a family cannot afford timely care.

5) Humanitarian and Essential Needs Support

A significant number of families under our care live in difficult financial circumstances, while many have been displaced or continue to live in frontline regions. Meeting basic needs is therefore an essential part of protecting children and preventing families from falling into deeper crisis.

Depending on the individual needs of a family, humanitarian support may include:

food and food packages;
hygiene products;
clothing and footwear;
school supplies;
first aid kits and basic medical supplies;
essential household items;
heating equipment and winterization assistance;
power banks, lighting solutions and other support related to power disruptions;
other essential goods required by children and their families.

Urgent situations may also require targeted financial or crisis assistance.

Our humanitarian assistance is need-based rather than distributed on a one-size-fits-all basis. We assess families’ circumstances and prioritize those facing the greatest vulnerability, including severe financial hardship, displacement, disability, medical emergencies and other critical situations.

A Long-Term Path, Not a One-Time Intervention

These programs are interconnected. A child may need psychological counseling today, tutoring and a laptop several months later, medical assistance after an illness, and career guidance or international educational opportunities as they grow older.

This is why our work is built around the child rather than around individual services.

We continuously reassess families’ circumstances and connect them with the support most relevant to their current stage of life. Alongside our core programs, children may also participate in sports, creative activities, camps, community events and other developmental and socialization opportunities.

We also create moments of joy and normal childhood through special initiatives, including birthday and holiday activities and other opportunities made possible by our partners. While these are not separate core programs, they complement our long-term work by helping children feel seen, included and supported.

Ultimately, our goal is not simply to meet immediate needs. We aim to help children recover from loss, regain stability, continue learning, protect their health, discover their abilities, build meaningful relationships and gradually prepare for an independent future.

Every child’s path is different. Our responsibility is to remain alongside them and make sure the right support is available at the right time.