There are about 100,000 people with intellectual disabilities living in Ukraine. Less than a third of them live in institutions that are threatened with both staff and medicines.
A few days ago a Ukrainian Raisa Kravchenko the phone rings.
Police said Kravchenko’s adult son had been arrested on the street by Ukrainian reserve forces.
Police brought the 37-year-old man, who violated the curfew, back home. Kravchenko’s son is mentally retarded.
– He’ll get up if he can’t get out. She is used to going out every day and it is part of her routine, Raisa Kravchenko tells over the phone.
After the war broke out, a local dormitory for the mentally handicapped in Kiev was closed and the son returned to live with his mother.
Now both are in evacuation about 120 miles south of the capital. Kravchenko does not want to disclose the exact location.
– I myself am physically disabled and caring for my son is difficult. It is difficult for us to get out of here, Kravchhenko describes the situation in his family.
Shortage of medicines and doctors
There are about 100,000 people in Ukraine who are officially classified as mentally handicapped. An estimated 30,000 of them live in various care facilities.
In 1994, Raisa Kravchenko founded the Ukrainian Charity Association for Parents with Developmental Disabilities and later joined the VGO Coalition, the national umbrella organization for voluntary organizations in the field.
According to him, the situation of the mentally handicapped in Ukraine was difficult even before the war.
– Two years ago, the funding of our organizations was driven down. I don’t know if this is related to preparing for war or not. Services have been cut all the time, Kravchenko explains.
Since the start of the fighting, the situation of people with intellectual disabilities has deteriorated sharply. The dormitories are now closed, many pharmacies have closed their doors and it is difficult to get to the doctor’s office.
– There is now a shortage of neuroleptics and antiepileptics, for example, in both institutions and home care. Prescriptions are difficult to obtain and there are not enough medicines, Kravchenko describes.
Neoroleptics are antipsychotic drugs that have a sedative effect, among other things.
Now electricity is being cut off in many places on the ground and the sounds of fighting are scaring civilians. According to Kravchenko, the most difficult situation is in the eastern and northern parts of the country, which are gradually coming under Russian control.
Many people with disabilities remain in Ukraine
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated on Friday that more than 1.25 million people have left Ukraine since the start of the war.
Fleeing abroad with children with intellectual disabilities is difficult and many have decided to stay in their fields or just change their place of residence in Ukraine, Raisa Kravchhenko says.
Sudden changes in routines can be difficult for people with intellectual disabilities. The situation is complicated by the fact that people with intellectual disabilities may not be able to understand the reasons for the changes.
– The feeling of insecurity has increased. It is to be hoped that everything will turn out for the best, Kravchenko says.