OUR PROJECT
In partnership with UNHCR, we implement the Ukrainian Peer Support (UPS) project, that aims to empower members of the Ukrainian communities who support their displaced countrymen through psychosocial support in Attica and in Thessaloniki. The members of the team are refugee volunteers who have received training in self-help group coordination and Psychological First Aid (PFA) in direct interpretation in Ukrainian language by experts which had a total duration of 44 hours. Participation was free of charge and they received a certificate of participation. They meet systematically and regularly to change their own situation through mutual support. Membership numbers vary from a few people to larger groups (5-15 people). Most groups meet regularly and are led by two facilitators. The facilitators ensure that the self-help group is a ‘safe’ environment where everyone’s views are accepted, keeps the group motivated, encourages active participation of all members, controls the rules and regulations of the group and can also act as a role model for group members. Facilitators attend weekly supervision by a mental health professional, provided by EPAPSY.
WHAT IS A SELF-HELP GROUP (SHG)?
A self-help group is a group of people who have a first-hand understanding of a particular life situation, such as resettlement after a war or a humanitarian crisis. This may be from their own experience as a refugee. A main characteristic of self-help groups is the idea of mutual support – people helping each other. Many people find that it helps to talk to someone who understands because they have been in the same situation, and they share similar lived experience.
WHY WOULD I ATTEND A SHG?
People’s motivation in participating in self-help groups varies. Most people want to make sense of what is happening to them by talking to people who have been through a similar experience. Additionally, self-help groups offer benefits that groups led by professionals cannot provide, including friendship, mutual support, experiential knowledge, identity, a sense of belonging, and other by- products of a positive group process.
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