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Metinvest Group’s Saving Lives humanitarian initiative and the UN Global Compact in Ukraine, with the support of Zaporizhia Regional Council and other partners, opened the first community centre Oplich Hub in Zaporizhia on 18 July. 

The centre seeks to get Zaporizhia residents united in mutual support and assistance amid the current uncertainty. This initiative is an extension of the UN GC Mental Help project designed to provide free psychological assistance to Ukrainians in wartime.

Metinvest’s Saving Lives initiative helped fit out the premises for the hub at the Metallurhiv Community Centre and also engaged psychologists and staff. 

Oplich Hub is a safe and inclusive space offering individual mental health counselling, group art therapy for adults and children, yoga, lectures, workshops, and legal advice. All services are free and confidential.

The humanitarian project is set to open similar centres in other localities where Metinvest operates to reach out to as many people as possible.

“Seventeenth month into the war, we all are emotionally exhausted. We have all learnt to keep this exhaustion to ourselves. But this has a negative impact on our mental health. We understand that the need for psychological assistance is enormous, particularly the assistance in engaging interesting and clear formats. There are many women who have to become a pillar of support for their children and for their loved ones who will return from the war. Their mental health is a priority. And many children may have certain psychological traumas due to stress, even if they are not obvious. Recognising all of this, we provide an opportunity for such groups to receive assistance. Oplich Hub is the place where you can always seek help and where you will never be turned down,” said Tetiana Petruk, Director of Sustainable Development and People Management at Metinvest Group.

The hub employs the best specialists in psychology, art therapy and yoga, who have been trained by international experts from the Israel Trauma Coalition, UCLA, and the University of Denver. 

Unity and mutual assistance at all levels and in all aspects of life are what will help us as a nation win this war. We are delighted to open Oplich Hub in Zaporizhia, standing side by side with our partners. Together, we have created a place of safety and comfort for Zaporizhia residents. Here you can open up, share your fears and concerns, have the sense of belonging and find the strength to withstand the challenges of our times. The world’s best experts trained our specialists to provide psychological assistance. You can trust them and rely on their help,” said Tetiana Sakharuk, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Network Ukraine.

Representatives of the UN Global Compact Ukraine, Metinvest Group, and Zaporizhia Regional Council held a panel discussion at the hub’s opening to underscore the importance of bringing communities together to provide mutual support amid the current uncertainty.

“Mental health is just as important as physical health. Zaporizhia residents and the displaced have been under constant stress for a very long time: air raids, explosions, destruction, news from the front, and worries about family members – all of it has a big impact on mental health. Many people try to keep in their feelings but it only causes harm. On behalf of the Regional Council, I’d like to thank the entire project team for uniting around such an important initiative and finding the best way to implement it. It’s very important to feel supported and try to build our future life. I call on all the people who have ever thought about the need for psychological assistance to come to Oplich Hub,” said the Chairperson of Zaporizhia Regional Council Olena Zhuk.

All the project partners that helped launch the hub took part in the opening event. Among them were Metinvest Group, Carlsberg Ukraine, Biosphere Corporation, Caparol Ukraine, Epicenter-K, Zaporizhia Regional Council, Foxtrot Group, Bob Snail, Hungarian Interchurch Aid’s (HIA), Free Legal Help, and Zaporizhia Academic Regional Ukrainian Music and Drama Theatre.

Anyone who wishes to receive help from Oplich Hub can come to the address: 7 Dobroliubova Street, Zaporizhia. For the hub’s schedule, please check Telegram or Viber channels. You can call +380 66 853 78 98 or visit the centre to register for participation in our activities.

In April 2023, Metinvest Group’s humanitarian initiative Saving Lives, the UN Global Compact Ukraine, and Zaporizhia Regional Council signed a memorandum to create a psychological support centre for civilians affected by the war.

The Saving Lives humanitarian initiative was launched by Metinvest Group in concert with the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation on the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Over 15 months of the all-out war, almost 500,000 people benefited from the assistance in 70 communities. Ukrainians received more than 4,200 tonnes of food products and hygiene items, and hospitals benefited from medicines, consumables, and equipment worth €250,000. Nearly 200 businesses around the globe, 400 volunteers, and 10 foundations and NGOs have joined the initiative. The total aid received from donors exceeds €2.7 million. Saving Lives focuses on providing prosthetic care and rehabilitation to Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, as well as improving psychological and emotional well-being of women and children.

The UN Global Compact Ukraine is the Ukrainian network of the world’s largest community of responsible businesses. As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, it calls on companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. The organisation has 22,000 members in 162 countries, including 126 members in Ukraine.