Standing Together: Institute on Community Integration Shares Strategies for Supporting Ukraine

Posted
April 11, 2022

In Ukraine, over 800 educational institutions have suffered bombing and shelling, and 75 have been destroyed completely following the February 24 invasion of the country by Russian forces. Families of people with disabilities have found themselves now homeless or unable to provide needed support to their loved ones with disabilities because of the bombings. 

The Institute’s Renáta Tichá, co-director of the Global Resource Center for Inclusive Education, led a live and virtual event on March 30 dedicated to bringing together faculty, staff, students, and other community members to share strategies for helping Ukrainians survive and rebuild. The event was sponsored by the CEHD Office of International Initiatives, which is directed by Marina Aleixo.

“It’s difficult to describe what it’s like to do this work of making education and community life more accessible for people with disabilities in the midst of war,” Tichá said, discussing her reasons for creating the event. “Of course, there is trauma they will deal with for a long time to come, and children and adults who didn’t have disabilities before will have them as a result of the invasion. We need to think about how, in chaos, we can move forward.”

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University of Minnesota student Safia Dockter stands behind a podium