After demobilization, veterans are planned to be assigned personal support specialists

Ukraine plans to create a State Veterans Support Service that will provide personal assistance to military personnel after they complete their service. Under the new model, a specialist is to contact a demobilized person within 24-48 hours and help them obtain necessary public services.

The concept was presented by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs during a meeting of the Coordination Staff for the implementation of state veterans policy.

The main change is the transition from independent search for help to personal support. Instead of visiting various government agencies, a veteran will have a designated specialist who will coordinate the receipt of services and monitor the actual outcome.

As explained by First Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs Serhiy Rekun, the new service is planned to be created based on the state non-profit company “State Veterans Space.” It will have central and regional levels and a network of support specialists.

After receiving information about demobilization or a conclusion from a military medical commission, the serviceman’s data will automatically go to the “Oscar” CRM system. Then, a responsible specialist will be assigned to the person, who must contact them within 24-48 hours.

During the first contact, the specialist will assess the veteran’s health status, need for prosthetics, psychological help, housing and employment. Based on this information, an individual support plan will be formed, which can be approved through the “Diia” app.

The proposed system will cover five main stages: preparation for discharge from service, return to civilian life, medical and psychological rehabilitation, professional fulfillment and economic independence, and social adaptation in the community.

The support specialist will coordinate the veteran’s interaction with the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Health, local self-government bodies, employment service, and other institutions. Their task will be not only to process referrals, but also to verify whether the person actually received the necessary help.

The Ministry of Veterans Affairs also proposes to change the evaluation system for these specialists. Currently, one specialist may be responsible for up to 100 people. Instead, they plan to introduce a point-based workload system that takes into account the complexity of each case, and effectiveness will be measured based on specific results in supporting veterans.

The need for such changes was previously emphasized by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada, Dmytro Lubinets. In an interview with Radio NV, he stated that Ukraine still lacks a complete unified system that would support a veteran in obtaining state assistance.

According to the ombudsman, one of the main problems is the lack of proper exchange of information between government registers and agencies. Because of this, veterans are forced to collect certificates, visit various departments and spend months processing the payments and services they are entitled to.

Lubinets stressed that support should begin before a serviceman is discharged. He cited examples of military units where patronage services already help the wounded with documents, payments, rehabilitation and future employment during treatment.

The new state model is meant to spread this approach to the entire veterans support system. At the same time, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs has so far presented a concept for the future service, not a full launch of a new mechanism. The agency did not name specific dates for when automatic assignment of specialists and approval of individual plans via “Diia” will become available to all veterans.

Based on materials from: Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, Radio NV