The Mental Guard project continues to expand its reach and share its experience in building a system of psychological support within education. Bucha has become the next community to adopt the project’s approaches.

As part of the first phase, Mental Guard team conducted an in-person training for school psychologists and social workers from the community. During the training, participants strengthened their crisis response skills, worked through practical cases, and explored approaches and protocols for providing psychological support to children and school communities in times of crisis.

The next phase of the project will include training sessions for school administrators, teaching staff, and students. The project aims to create a unified support ecosystem in which mental well-being is an integral part of a safe educational environment.

“In the context of the full-scale war, supporting the mental health of children and adults in educational settings is one of the key challenges we face. We believe that the resilience of a community begins with the resilience of its people,” said Angelina Ochadcha, Director of Klitschko Foundation.

She added that it is important for Klitschko Foundation to ensure that effective practices and expertise developed in Kyiv become accessible to other communities across Ukraine.

Since the launch of the Mental Guard project in the capital, more than 85 trainings and educational programs have been delivered, engaging over 2,700 educators and psychologists. In addition, more than 2,000 people have received support from crisis response teams.

The need for such initiatives is reflected in real experiences faced by schools. In one case, a third-grade student who had lost her father came to school carrying her grief. Although her teacher had 15 years of professional experience, she later admitted that she did not know how to respond or how to support the child. As a result, the student was left alone with her emotions during one of the most difficult moments in her life.

Mental Guard is designed to ensure that educators and school professionals are equipped with the knowledge and practical tools needed to provide timely support, so that no child has to face crisis situations without understanding and care from the adults around them.

Klitschko Foundation expresses its gratitude to partners, #WeAreAllUkrainians and Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern e.V., whose support has enabled the expansion of the project and contributes to building a culture of care for mental health within Ukrainian educational communities.