When the Pain Becomes a Part of You

The program’s first residential trainings, launched by Nova Ukraine and its partners, were recently held in Ukraine’s Volyn Oblast.

Mariia, a support specialist, almost didn’t attend.

Leaving the veterans and families she supported for three days filled her with guilt she couldn’t shake. She worried about how they would manage without her. But when she found herself among psychologists, social workers, healthcare professionals, and community specialists who shared the same responsibilities, something changed.

“I came here thinking I couldn’t leave the veterans and families I support,” she said. “Instead, I realized something I hadn’t allowed myself to admit: we need support too.”

Across Ukraine, specialists sit with veterans and families as they process combat, loss, injury, displacement, and grief. They listen, guide, and help people begin rebuilding their lives. But the stories they hear often follow them home. Over time, that emotional weight can become part of their own lives — more than half of Ukraine’s war-affected mental health workers report moderate secondary traumatic stress.^¹ A needs assessment conducted among specialists across seven regions of Ukraine confirmed just how widespread and urgent that toll really is — this isn’t a Volyn-specific problem, only a Volyn-first response.

This need inspired Vector of Resilience, a new joint pilot program from Nova Ukraine and its partners. Over three days, participants built their professional resilience, learned practical recovery tools, and recognized an important truth: those who care for others also need to care for themselves.

Inside the Foundation Phase

The program’s Foundation Phase is now complete: three separate three-day residential trainings, each bringing together 20 Veteran Support Specialists, for a total of 60 participants across Volyn Oblast — roughly 75% of all Veteran Support Specialists working in the region. Each training combined evidence-based theory, practical case work, and psychological self-care and resilience tools.

These trainings marked the beginning of Vector of Resilience, a three-stage pilot developed by Nova Ukraine jointly with Marlog Caducei, in partnership with the Volyn Regional Administration, the International Institute of Postgraduate Education (MIPO) in Ukraine and with the Ukraine’s Ministry of Veterans Affair support. Participants are now in the program’s Integration Phase — six online peer supervision (intervision) sessions focused on collaborative case discussion and practical application of the methodology — before reconvening for a one-day forum in Lutsk on August 7 for advanced case-based learning, final assessment, and certification.

For many participants, the most important lesson wasn’t clinical. It was personal.

“We tend to forget about ourselves, our families, and our own needs,” said Nastia. “This is not healthy, and I didn’t even realize I was doing this, let alone the impact it was having on my life and my ability to help others.”

Olena, who works with veterans living with severe trauma, described what years of carrying other people’s pain can feel like.

“Every day is very difficult. I work with veterans with very serious traumas. We take those traumas on ourselves, including their horrific experiences in war, their losses, and the pain carried by entire families. The pain becomes a part of you.”

She said she left the training with practical tools she can put to use immediately — tools she believes make her a better resource to the veterans she serves. Beyond the training itself, the pilot has already produced a full curriculum and methodology, plus a practical handbook participants are using in their work today.

Building Something That Lasts

Most professional development trainings end when the workshop does — a single session, a certificate, and no way to know if anything actually changed. Vector of Resilience was built differently: an evidence-based model developed jointly with university researchers, paired with ongoing peer supervision and a dedicated research track measuring real outcomes, not just satisfaction. It’s also a departure from most of Nova Ukraine’s other programs. Where Power of Two and similar efforts support veterans and their families directly, Vector of Resilience targets the workforce standing between them and recovery — the specialists whose own capacity determines how much help actually reaches everyone else.

The pilot builds on a foundation Nova Ukraine set in Volyn through Power of Two, a family recovery program for veterans and their spouses. What started as a single pilot is now expanding into its fifth region — proof that community-based programs can grow when they meet real needs and deliver real results.

Vector of Resilience follows the same philosophy and is part of Nova Ukraine’s EMPOWER pillar — the belief that investing in Ukraine’s human capital, from veterans to the professionals who support them, is just as important for the country’s future as emergency response is today. Instead of only reacting to current challenges, this program supports the long-term well-being of the professionals who help veterans and families adjust to life after war. Stronger specialists lead to more resilient communities and, in the end, better-supported veterans as they return as leaders, mentors, and contributors in civilian life.

What Happens Next

The pilot’s next milestones are already mapped out. On August 7, all 60 participants will reconvene in Lutsk for a one-day forum focused on advanced case-based learning, final assessment, and certification.

From there, the program moves into its Evaluation and Scaling Phase. Nova Ukraine and its partners will establish permanent peer support groups for Veteran Support Specialists, complete a full impact evaluation of the pilot, and prepare recommendations for scaling the model to other regions of Ukraine. In September 2026, results and a proposed path forward will be presented during an online roundtable with Ukraine’s Ministry of Veterans Affairs, regional veteran policy departments, and the pilot’s own participants — a direct line from a Volyn pilot to a national policy conversation, not just an internal report.

Expansion beyond Volyn depends on what that evaluation shows and on finalizing the methodology first — a deliberate, evidence-based next step, not an assumption.

Made Possible by You

Every veteran deserves someone ready to listen, guide, and help them rebuild their life. Programs like Vector of Resilience help ensure those professionals have the support they need to keep showing up for the veterans and families who depend on them.

Because of your generosity, you’re helping strengthen the psychologists, social workers, healthcare professionals, and community specialists who care for Ukraine’s veterans every day. By investing in the people who care for others, you’re helping build stronger communities and a stronger future for Ukraine.

Questions readers often ask about this work

Names of program participants have been changed to protect their privacy. Program details sourced from Nova Ukraine internal team communications and a regional needs assessment conducted among Veteran Support Specialists across seven regions of Ukraine.