Forum “Ability: Finding a New Way of Life After Trauma”

08/ 04/ 2025

How to find a new way of life after trauma? The Western Ukrainian Office of the European Business Association joined the Forum Ability: Finding a New Way of Life After Trauma, held at the UNBROKEN Center of the First Medical Union of Lviv. 🫂 The Forum brought together mental health specialists, military families, business representatives, educators, artists, volunteers, and the defenders themselves to discuss effective tools for returning to life after severe trauma. Oleg Bereziuk, Head of the Mental Health Department at the UNBROKEN Center, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, emphasized that education, culture, art, and sports are powerful tools that promote neurogenesis and help people rediscover themselves after trauma. 🎙️ During the panel discussion Two Perspectives: Veterans’ Path to Professional Future and Employer Support, Yurii Yatsinych, CEO of Kettenwerk and Head of the Manufacturing Committee of the Western Ukrainian EBA Office, shared practical cases of integrating veterans into the work environment and explained how employers can create conditions for veterans’ professional reintegration. Yurii also presented the Association’s efforts in this direction, including a survey conducted within the framework of the HR Management Committee and in collaboration with the National Guard of Ukraine. The goal is to determine the readiness of companies to employ veterans and identify their key needs. We invite the business community to join the survey and help shape the necessary solutions for effective reintegration of defenders into the professional environment. The Forum featured inspiring stories of veterans who have already undergone transformation: ▪️Nazarii Podoliak overcame depression through business education and plans to start his own enterprise; ▪️Ihor Platonov was saved by art — theater became his source of strength after captivity. 🏠 One of the key factors in adaptation is the support of loved ones and access to a safe space. In Lviv, the first social house for Center patients is already operating — implemented with the support of the EU and NEFCO. We believe that returning to life is not just about medical recovery, but also about integration into the community, economy, and culture. Business must be part of this process — as an employer, partner, and support. We thank the organizers — the UNBROKEN Center and the Lviv City Council, as well as international partners — UNIDO, the Government of Japan, and the EU — for creating a space where recovery becomes a reality.

How to find a new way of life after trauma? The Western Ukrainian Office of the European Business Association joined the Forum “Ability: Finding a New Way of Life After Trauma,” held at the UNBROKEN Center of the First Medical Union of Lviv.

🫂 The Forum brought together mental health specialists, military families, business representatives, educators, artists, volunteers, and the defenders themselves to discuss effective tools for returning to life after severe trauma.

Oleg Bereziuk, Head of the Mental Health Department at the UNBROKEN Center, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, emphasized that education, culture, art, and sports are powerful tools that promote neurogenesis and help people rediscover themselves after trauma.

🎙️ During the panel discussion “Two Perspectives: Veterans’ Path to Professional Future and Employer Support,” Yurii Yatsinych, CEO of Kettenwerk and Head of the Manufacturing Committee of the Western Ukrainian EBA Office, shared practical cases of integrating veterans into the work environment and explained how employers can create conditions for veterans’ professional reintegration.

Yurii also presented the Association’s efforts in this direction, including a survey conducted within the framework of the HR Management Committee and in collaboration with the National Guard of Ukraine. The goal is to determine the readiness of companies to employ veterans and identify their key needs.

We invite the business community to join the survey and help shape the necessary solutions for effective reintegration of defenders into the professional environment.

The Forum featured inspiring stories of veterans who have already undergone transformation: ▪️Nazarii Podoliak overcame depression through business education and plans to start his own enterprise; ▪️Ihor Platonov was saved by art — theater became his source of strength after captivity.

🏠 One of the key factors in adaptation is the support of loved ones and access to a safe space. In Lviv, the first social house for Center patients is already operating — implemented with the support of the EU and NEFCO.

We believe that returning to life is not just about medical recovery, but also about integration into the community, economy, and culture. Business must be part of this process — as an employer, partner, and support.

We thank the organizers — the UNBROKEN Center and the Lviv City Council, as well as international partners — UNIDO, the Government of Japan, and the EU — for creating a space where recovery becomes a reality.