For the tenth year in a row, Ukraine has been bravely resisting the Russian invaders and defending its borders. However, in the confrontation with the occupier, our country is losing its best sons and daughters who stood up to defend their homeland.
The Drohobych community supports families who have lost their loved ones in this struggle by organizing funerals and creating events to preserve the memory of the soldiers. However, there are always questions that hurt the families.
On Sunday, March 31, the Department of Social, Psychological, Legal Support and Interaction with Defenders and Their Families organized another meeting with the families of the fallen defenders of the Drohobych community.
First of all, all those present on the Alley of Memory honored the fallen Heroes who gave their lives for the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Then the meeting continued at the Youth Center “Under the KOC”.
The meeting was attended by UGCC priest Ivan Kovba, psychologists Andriy Zymyansky and Iryna Shustova, and deputy head of the Drohobych ATO Veterans’ Association Andriy Manko, who joined forces to support those who are experiencing the loss of a loved one.
The guests had the opportunity to share their thoughts, emotions, experiences and memories of their loved ones. Father Ivan gave spiritual guidance aimed at restoring inner peace and emphasized the importance of spiritual practices – prayer, reading the Scriptures, confession and communion – as a way to support and heal a person who lives in body, soul and spirit.
Andriy Zymiansky shared his experience of working with psychological trauma and focused on the importance of understanding, accepting, and expressing one’s own emotions and feelings. Iryna Shustova, in turn, explained the essence of the activities of a psychologist, psychotherapist and psychiatrist, noting that each of them has its own characteristics and specifics of assistance.
This meeting was not only a place of experience exchange and support, but also proved to be very important for spiritual, moral, and psychological recovery and contributed to the process of self-knowledge and deepening into the inner world of a person.
She emphasized the importance of cooperation between clergy and psychologists in helping people in difficult life situations. It is important to understand that sharing personal grief with someone else makes it less difficult, so such communication of the families of the fallen heroes will be crucial in their spiritual, moral and psychological healing.
In conclusion, the participants decided to continue to meet and made proposals for the creation of a public organization. This demonstrates the importance of community to overcome difficulties and support each other.