June is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month. According to youth.gov, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is developed “after seeing or living through an event that caused or threatened serious harm or death,” and may cause “sleep problems, irritability, anger, recurrent dreams about the trauma, intense reactions to reminders of the trauma, disturbances in relationships, and isolation.”
PTSD is common among Ukrainian children who are in constant danger because of the war, and among children in foster care all over the world. At Kidsave, we strive to help these children cope with the trauma and create a safe and nurturing environment that ensures their wellbeing.
An estimated 1.5 million Ukrainian children are at risk of PTSD since Russia's full-scale invasion. They have experienced constant bombardment, been displaced from their homes, and witnessed deaths and injuries that have left them with significant and lasting psychological wounds.
Tatiana Stafford, Kidsave’s Vice President and Director of Eastern Europe, says, “Children [in Ukraine] realize that the old days are gone, their life will never be the same again. They do not know if they will have a future. Many children have lost their parents and relatives. They are experiencing great psycho-emotional trauma and feel like no one needs them anymore.”
While our team in Ukraine is helping with evacuations and humanitarian aid, they also take the children’s mental health very seriously. Construction is underway on the Kidsave Miracles Center in western Ukraine. Upon completion, it will be a safe place where orphaned children can meet potential adoptive families, older youth can receive mentoring and career training, and children and families can receive counseling and war trauma therapy.
In the meantime, more and more children are enrolled in our mentoring programs. So far this year, the Pathway to Success program has connected 50 teenagers with caring mentors and provided the resources they need to thrive.
“Our specialists provide psychological counseling and ongoing support to children and youth in crisis. We develop and plan trainings on psychological self-help and overcoming the negative consequences of traumatic events for children and youth in Ukraine,” said Tatiana.
On June 1, our team celebrated International Children’s Day with over 270 children in three villages in the Mykolaiv region. They took the kids to the zoo, played games, and enjoyed food and music together. Our team is dedicated to bringing love, hope, and joy to the children despite the challenges of war.
Not only does war trigger PTSD, but it’s also common among children in foster care. One in four youth in foster care will experience PTSD symptoms, and former foster children are twice as likely as U.S. war veterans to experience PTSD in adulthood. This is because they are more likely to experience trauma caused by abuse, neglect, and bullying, prior to foster placement.
Children’s wellbeing has always been Kidsave’s number one priority. At the Weekend Miracles events, we plan fun activities such as game days and bowling, and our volunteers and workers always show love and support to all of the kids. Their laughter and excitement are the biggest reward. Meanwhile, we strive to find every kid a loving forever family, because we know how important it is for them to thrive in a stable and supportive environment.
For this PTSD Awareness Month, we hope you join us in acknowledging the trauma experienced by the children in Ukraine and in foster care, and join our effort to bring them a brighter future!
About Kidsave
Kidsave is a nonprofit children’s charity that helps older kids in foster care and orphanages in the U.S. and around the world be seen, find family, and thrive. Currently, we are working in the U.S., Colombia, Ukraine, and Sierra Leone to find loving forever families for kids growing up in foster care and orphanages. To learn more and how you can help, visit https://www.kidsave.org/your-part/.
To learn more about our work in Ukraine, visit https://www.kidsave.org/ukraine/.
