From November 2024 to January 2025, the project "Support for Interaction Between Veterans and Police Officers" was implemented by members of the Ukrainian Community of Dialogue Practitioners, Oleg Ovcharenko and Lilia Oliinyk, in collaboration with Diana Protsenko and the charity organization "Veteran Hub". The project aimed to enhance the interaction between veterans and police officers by training Human Rights Commissioners of the National Police of Ukraine in effective communication and conflict resolution approaches, including trauma-informed approaches, to promote trust-building between citizens, the police, and the veteran community.
As part of the project, a training program was developed, taking into account the specific activities and functional workload of the target audience. A two-day training was conducted, followed by post-training support, where participants had the opportunity to share their experiences of applying the acquired knowledge and skills in their practical work and discuss the challenges they encountered.
The training involved 22 Human Rights Commissioners of the National Police of Ukraine, who perform their duties in different regions of the country.
Participants of the training program had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the basic concepts of conflict and conflict signals, approaches and tools for working with conflicts, develop effective communication skills, discuss the challenges the police face when communicating with veterans, and share their experiences in overcoming these challenges. The training was supplemented with an informational session about the activities of the "Veteran Hub", particularly the project "The Path of Veterans".
Among the key outcomes, participants noted that developing conflict resolution competencies, as well as skills such as empathy, active listening, and emotional management, allows for building trust, reducing tension in interactions with veterans, and working with crisis situations. It also enhances the ability to establish a dialogue with veterans, other community groups, and, as a result, strengthens social support for veterans. The project will also contribute to preventing conflicts between veterans, police officers, and other community members, increase trust between the police, the community, and the veteran community, and strengthen social support for veterans.
Additionally, the project will facilitate the development of inter-professional connections between the Ukrainian Community of Dialogue Practitioners, the "Veteran Hub", and the Department of the Main Inspection and Human Rights Compliance, which will ultimately contribute to strengthening social cohesion in society, adding value to the project.
The project was supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung with the participation of the Ukrainian Community of Dialogue Practitioners.
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