Birth of Lifeline Ukraine: The Story of Its Creation
Identifying the Problem
It should be noted that the first step to solving a problem is acknowledging that you have one. This is exactly what Dr. Ulana Suprun did when she decided to examine the issue of suicides among veterans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: she acknowledged the problem and then began looking for ways to solve it.
Recommendations from Lifeline Australia and Strategy Selection
Dr. Suprun, who was then acting Minister of Health of Ukraine, decided to invite experts from one of the world's leading suicide prevention organisations to come to Ukraine, see what opportunities exist here, and make recommendations on the necessary steps. These specialists from Lifeline Australia analysed other call centres that offer support on a range of issues (La Strada operates a call centre for women, there is a helpline for people living with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis), and as a result, Lifeline Australia suggested three possible solutions to the problem of veteran suicides: create a coalition of these existing resources, take one of these operations and invest in it to re-equip it for this purpose, or create a new national 24/7 service from scratch.
Formation of Lifeline Ukraine
After receiving recommendations from Lifeline Australia, the next step was to identify a person who would be willing to lead the effort, and Dr. Suprun asked Paul Niland to consider taking on this responsibility. As an author of articles on issues related to Ukraine, Paul was well aware of the difficult situation of Ukrainian soldiers, and after discussions between him and the former CEO of Lifeline Australia, Paul agreed to start working on what would become Lifeline Ukraine.
Having analysed the report and recommendations of Lifeline Australia and having met at the Ministry of Health with representatives of other helplines and other stakeholders, Paul decided that for Lifeline Ukraine to offer world-class support at the level of best international practices, the right choice would be to build Lifeline Ukraine from scratch. The starting point would be to consider how suicide prevention is carried out worldwide, particularly in terms of supporting former servicemen and women. Ukraine's problem is acute but not unique. Every nation that has sent troops into combat has suffered from similar problems related to difficulties adapting to civilian life after the war, depression, and PTSD. Ukraine does not need to reinvent the wheel; Ukraine needs to look at how others approach this situation and learn from their experience.
Peer-to-peer principle
Looking around the world, seeing how countries like the UK and the USA support their veterans, it was decided to follow their models and create a service based on the peer-to-peer principle. There are several reasons why this approach was deemed the best for Ukraine: primarily due to the shared understanding and experience that veterans possess, but also due to the bonds of trust that were built on the front line, making it easier for one veteran to call another. Unfortunately, in Ukraine, there is a stigma around seeking psychological support, as well as a broader stigma around suicide. But ignoring these problems does not solve them; the peer-to-peer support principle addresses these issues.
Psychological support of the team
When the peer-to-peer model was chosen, the next consideration was how we would take care of the mental health of our own colleagues once they started working. Any call-centre environment is a stressful place to work. When dealing with callers in distress, naturally, the emotional burden will be high for those who want to be part of this mission. To address this issue, a two-tiered internal psychological support system was created as part of the management strategy. While most of our crisis line counsellors will be veterans, all their shift supervisors must be people with higher education in the field of psychology, and then these shift supervisors will work closely with Lifeline Ukraine's permanent consulting psychologist. At that time, we did not know, although we could have guessed, that we would find such people (or they would find us), and in the end we received applications from people who were both veterans and psychologists!
Project funding and partner search
Finding funding for any project is, of course, key, and it is often a challenging task. Ideas for crowdfunding were put forward, and potential corporate partners were engaged. But the breakthrough came when (as part of a larger project created by the Eastern Europe Foundation called All4One) Lifeline Ukraine received a grant to cover operating costs from the British Embassy in Ukraine. Following the grant and subsequent meetings with the Eastern European Foundation and Lifeline Ukraine, the embassy explained how supporting a project like this with a clear mission of saving lives and alleviating suffering was an ideal partnership for them.
Team formation: selection and training
Thanks to funding and several corporate partnerships, the search, interview, and testing for the Lifeline Ukraine team has started in our new offices. The interest from people wanting to be part of this initiative was (and remains) high, and throughout the interview process, we met amazing, incredible, and brave individuals. They often spoke about their motivation to be a part of this as an understanding of our collective responsibility to help each other and help the country, linking this attitude to the times of the Revolution of Dignity.
Many of those who asked to join the team did so driven by a primary desire to help their fellow veterans, as they best understand what their comrades might be going through.
The team had to be ready to carry out their tasks, so after the main selection process, we tested them to get an idea of each person's psychological resilience. Two tests were conducted for the veterans, which were derived from research by the management team, who again looked to the best international practices and methods. Equally, the initial training also involved using the best international experience, with senior staff from the ERAN Suicide Prevention and Emotional First Aid Service in Israel traveling to Kyiv to prepare the team for the start of their work. It is not surprising that every man and woman who participated in the training days approached the process of acquiring important foundational knowledge with enthusiasm, dedication, and passion. They knew the task ahead of them, and they themselves decided that this should be called our collective mission.
