Goals

Problem statement:

According to the UNHCR data, there are more than 15,000 IDPs in Shida Qartli. The majority of the IDPs have witnessed war and lost jobs and property. Most of them are unemployed and unaware of their civil rights. Often, they have PTSD and do not know how to seek help. Some are addicted to alcohol, which leads to fights and domestic violence. Sleep disorders are also common.

The suicide statistics is extremely alarming. The number of suicide incidents, mostly among the youth, has increased twice and more in Shida Qartli during the recent years. One 20-year-old youngster uploaded war photos in the social network and then committed suicide, which is directly related untreated PTSD.

In the past, psychological assistance was provided to IDPs and socially vulnerable people by several international and local NGOs, but this assistance has stopped. The help of these organizations was mostly limited to one-time activities, which is definitely not enough to overcome the problem. The basis of the problem is that the state has appointed only a general doctor and NGOs are trying to fill this gap, but they do not have resources.

Proposed Solution:

There is a need of a local psychological room, which will serve the IDPs. The association “Psychea” has existed in the region since 2000 and has a great experience. After the war in 2008 the local self-government allocated a space for us for several years, where we used to hold consultations. We have a separate administration office.

In case the project is funded, we can create a room for psychological consultations. From our side, the psychologists of the association “Psychea” volunteer. Recently we have received multiple calls for assistance, but we couldn’t manage it from our administration office.

Sustainability:

Even though our idea is not “loud” and “populist,” it is sustainable in time. It is not a problem for us to provide consultations voluntarily if we have the space. in case of having an organized room consultations.

Equal gender opportunity:

This is intended to benefit to both men and women, as both can apply. However, based on our experience we can say that women tend to apply for help most often. This does not mean that men do not have issues but they consume alcoholics or other means unfortunately. The purpose of consultations with different groups is different, the issues are different and are treated on individual basis.