Volodimir first experienced homelessness in Kyiv, after he was released from prison. “I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I slept at the railway station,” he says. In order to cope, he turned to alcohol.
He moved to Odesa after finding a job there, but exploitation meant he had to leave. His reliance on alcohol worsened, making it hard for him to find a new job, and he slept in Odesa’s railway station or outside on the streets.
“Close to the railway station, there was a soup kitchen. This is where I first found out about Depaul’s services,” he remembers.
He was encouraged to attend a rehabilitation programme, where he learnt to cope with situations without alcohol. When he left rehab, he decided to volunteer at Depaul Ukraine’s day centre, and was able to find a place to live.
When the full-scale invasion began, Volodimir was asked to help distribute aid to those displaced. “I packed the food kits and had conversations with clients,” he says.
Then, when Depaul opened the low-threshold shelter in Odesa, Volodimir was invited to work there. “Now, I believe what I am doing is right,” he says. “What people do shows you what they believe in.”