TOGETHER, RESTORING LIVES

WHY IT MATTERS

With only 3.3 psychologists per 100,000 people, Ukraine faces a mental health crisis. Many veterans struggle with moral injury – the invisible wounds of war that include guilt, shame, anger and loss of meaning. Hopefull Future offers a non-clinical, practical path to recovery: group support led by trained veteran facilitators. 

Over time, they grow into a network that promotes leadership, resilience, and long-term reintegration into civilian life. The programme also offers mentoring and tools to help veterans step into new roles, jobs and missions beyond the battlefield. 

The country faces an overwhelming humanitarian crisis: over 250,000 people are currently on waiting lists for vital rehabilitation, many suffering critical injuries beyond just amputations. This massive unmet need severely impacts the nation's workforce, leaves families languishing, and causes profound despair among veterans who feel abandoned. Compounding this, a population of approximately 37.9 million had fewer than 4,000 mental health professionals pre-invasion, a number that has significantly declined since 2022 due to ongoing conflict, displacement, and infrastructure strain. Today, nearly half of Ukrainians report mental health concerns, with millions at risk of moderate to severe conditions. This severe gap between skyrocketing need and deeply insufficient, often overwhelmed or inept, capacity renders traditional models of care simply untenable.
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That’s why HopeFull’s scalable, peer-driven approach is so vital. By training local facilitators, supporting community-based interventions, and focusing on comprehensive rehabilitation, HopeFull delivers critical support where the system currently fails. Your support directly empowers sustainable mental health care and recovery in one of the world’s most underserved crisis zones, meeting urgent need with innovation, compassion, and impact. Your donation will help to train and develop local people to provide rehabilitation for Ukraine's service personnel, medics, and families, empowering them to heal, thrive, and contribute to a stronger, united nation.

HopeFull Future is an innovative rehabilitation programme, developed in collaboration with Ukrainian partners and supported by Ukrainian authorities, to help service personnel, medics, and their families transition from war to civilian life. At the heart of this mission is the belief that veterans are not a problem to be solved but an opportunity to inspire and strengthen their communities.

Drawing on the proven model created by Simon Edwards for Help for Heroes, the programme offers a holistic approach to recovery, addressing physical, psychological, and moral injuries utilising a peer-led approach. Designed to adapt to diverse contexts, the programme provides a comprehensive framework around which international charities and local agencies can coordinate their services. By fostering a community-focused approach, HopeFull ensures veterans and their families receive the tailored care they need while realising their potential as contributors to a thriving, post-war Ukraine.

Your donation will help to train and develop local people to provide rehabilitation for Ukraine's service personnel, medics, and families, empowering them to heal, thrive, and contribute to a stronger, united nation.

BUILT FOR UKRAINE

Our joint UK-Ukraine team is working with local veteran communities, partners and local authorities to scale the programme, now endorsed nationally. 

Simon Edwards (UK)

A British veteran and Churchill Fellow, social entrepreneur and leadership specialist with 20+ years’ experience in moral injury recovery and veteran rehabilitation. 

simon.edwards333@gmail.com

Olga Nechaeva (UK-Ukraine)

A communications specialist, author, community builder and project leader with 20+ years’ experience across programme development and mental health innovation. 

Yulia Bashlakova (UKRAINE)

An interdisciplinary clinical trauma psychologist and mental health innovator with over 15 years’ experience in therapy, psychodiagnostics, and programme development.

NATIONAL SUPPORT

HopeFull Future is backed by leading advocates for veteran recovery, including Taras Tarasenko (Verkhovna Rada Committee on Veterans Affairs, “Veterans Return Home” movement) and Vadym Svyrydenko (Presidential Envoy for Combatant Rehabilitation). The programme is delivered in partnership with veteran centres in Lviv, Zhytomyr, Lutsk, Kalush, Drohobych, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro.