A New phase of the «Hugs» project: training for mobile team specialists was held in Lviv
A two-day training program for local coordinators and specialists from the «Hugs» project’s mobile teams took place in Lviv. The team reviewed the results of the previous phase, discussed key tools for supporting family-based care, developing mentoring, and providing counseling to parents, and mapped out the steps needed to launch the next phase of the project.
A few days ago, an intensive training program was held for local coordinators and specialists from the «Hugs» project’s mobile teams. The event brought together specialists to launch a new, even larger-scale phase. The project’s main goal remains unchanged – to ensure every child’s right to live and grow up in a caring family environment.
The first day of training began with an in-depth analysis of previous results. Participants conducted a retrospective review of the «Hugs» project’s work, summarized the findings, discussed the experience gained, and presented the key areas of activity for this phase of «Hugs.»
A separate major segment was devoted to mentoring – its role, tasks, and limits of responsibility. Experts examined in detail:
the specifics of interacting with children in institutional care;
tools for counseling and informing potential mentor candidates;
the specifics of communicating about the role and boundaries of mentoring;
procedures for a mentor’s collaboration with the child, the facility, and social services;
an analysis of typical challenges and practical situations in mentoring.
The final day of the program was entirely devoted to methods of supporting families. Participants explored practical tools for engaging parents raising children in family-based care settings, effective approaches to working with them, and ways to maintain their motivation.
Equally important was the session on counseling parents: how to communicate without judgment, how to handle resistance, emotions, and mistrust, and how to ask the right questions to provide quality assistance without causing harm.
«The launch of this new phase of the project is an important step in the development of our system for supporting children and families. We see how much the need for high-quality mentoring and professional support for families is growing. This training allowed our team to align our vision and gain clear, practical tools for our daily work,» - notes project manager Anna Kikh.
The «Response to the Crisis in Ukraine» project is being implemented by the Ukrainian Education Platform Charitable Organization with support from the International Rescue Committee.
