Chortkiv is a city that has become home to dozens of internally displaced families from different parts of Ukraine. This project gave IDPs a chance to start a new life, integrate, work and study in the local community.
‘I am pleased that these people did not choose Warsaw or Berlin, but stayed in Ukraine and became part of our city,’ said Volodymyr Shmatko, Mayor of Chortkiv.
Reliable cooperation with NEFCO and other international partners brought the city a grant of EUR 1.96 million, which allowed it to transform the old dormitory of the Chortkiv Gymnasium into a modern social housing complex. It is a complete home for 40 families, equipped with everything from thermal modernisation and a new heating system to smart apartments with children’s play areas and furnished interiors.
The Chortkiv United project has successfully applied the European approach to social housing, whereby communities become owners of real estate and rent it out on affordable terms. This practice, popular in Germany and Austria, makes housing affordable and of high quality. For example, in Vienna alone, 25% of the population are social tenants.
In addition to housing, the project opened a Social Service Centre, where IDPs found work at socially acceptable prices in a hairdressing salon, atelier and shoe repair shop. This not only facilitates integration but also helps the local economy.
‘We have serious problems with the demographic situation: because of the war, millions of Ukrainians are forced to seek safe haven abroad. If nothing is done, this will lead to an even greater outflow of population, loss of labour resources and weakening of local communities. That is why it is so important to create conditions for the integration and support of IDPs at the local level. And this is one of the successful examples of how to keep people in Ukraine by giving them the opportunity to live in dignity, work and develop in their native country,’ said Mykyta Laktionov, Deputy Chairman of the Alliance.
