Public organization
Rehabilitation Center Hippos
Hippos is a rehabilitation center that has been operating since 2021 and implements innovative methods to restore health: for military personnel, children and adults with disabilities. The center specializes in the physical and psychological rehabilitation of patients using hippotherapy and animal therapy, which helps improve their health and quality of life.
Location: Kropyvnytskyi, Kirovohrad Oblast, Ukraine
Activities
What has already been done:
- A foundation has been created that is necessary for development and for expanding the ability to provide psychological rehabilitation, physical therapy, hippotherapy, animal-assisted therapy, and social work;
- Several charitable projects have been launched. One of them is "Happy Hearts", aimed at physical, psychological, and social rehabilitation for service members and their family members, combatants and their family members, people with war-related disabilities, children and adults from the families of fallen (deceased) war veterans, family members of fallen Defenders of Ukraine, victims of torture and captivity, and victims of sexual violence.
What we already have:
Team
Veterinarians, psychologists, social workers, horse handlers
Location
Sozonivka village, Velykoseverynivska community, Kirovohrad Oblast
Animals
9 horses and a donkey, lambs, sheep, raccoons, chinchillas, chickens, a piglet, dogs
MEDIA
About our work in the media:
How in Kropyvnytskyi they gave moments of joy to heroes' children
12 Avdiivka horses: the story of evacuation to Kropyvnytskyi
A roe deer named Kherson and four raccoons were taken from a flooded city to Kropyvnytskyi
A roe deer, raccoon dogs, cats: animals from Kherson region were evacuated to Kropyvnytskyi
Rehabilitation with the help of horses in Kropyvnytskyi: rides are organized for children and adults
Charity project
"Happy Hearts"
«Happy Hearts» - the project has already involved more than 500 servicemen, as well as many temporarily displaced persons and children who lost their parents in the war. Horses, goats, sheep, donkeys, cats and dogs help military personnel and displaced children to rehabilitate. This is a joint project of the regional hospital and our rehabilitation center, during the sessions, soldiers rest and train their muscles and nervous system. All classes within the project are free.
Some animals are involved in the project. They were specially selected to be calm and sociable. The animals of the Hippos rehabilitation center are used to people and also need communication, the first contact with all animals is established during group visits. The animals are stroked and fed. Such a visit takes place once a week. All willing patients of the hospital and those displaced children who have been recommended by a psychologist can join. After that, individual classes are possible. During them, you can try to ride a horse. The military is taught to interact with a horse, to properly lead it and feed it. The soldiers respond to all this perfectly. Some of those who have been in the hospital for a long time go to such classes every week.
Rehabilitation programs
1. Hippotherapy with horses
Hippotherapy can help veterans with psychological and emotional trauma through therapeutic contact with horses. Interaction with animals can help reduce anxiety and stress, improve mood, and increase a sense of calm.
2. Psychotherapy
Providing individual and group psychotherapy for veterans with trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and other psychological difficulties related to service.
3. Family counseling
Support for veterans' families who may also feel the effects of their loved ones' wartime experiences. Providing advice and information on how best to support veterans in the recovery process.
4. Skills development trainings
Programs to develop skills and strategies for coping with stress, managing emotions, and improving well-being.
5. Social support and rehabilitation
Providing support for veterans as they return to civilian life, including rehabilitation services that help restore functional abilities and support integration into society.
6. Community engagement
Programs of cooperation with other civic organizations, military institutions, and medical facilities to ensure a holistic approach to helping veterans.
7. Cultural and recreational activities
Organizing cultural and recreational events to support veterans and provide a positive impact on their physical and mental health.
Goal and objectives
Our goal
The main goal of the center is to provide high-quality and specialized assistance to veterans and persons affected by military actions in Ukraine who may experience difficulties in the post-war period. This can be a significant source of support and improvement of the quality of life for those who have dedicated their lives to military challenges related to the protection of the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine and the population affected by the war in Ukraine.
Our objectives
- Expanding the work of the Hippos Rehabilitation Center (the center works in the field of rehabilitation for children and people with disabilities; people with physical/sensory/psychological/intellectual/mental impairments; people with musculoskeletal disorders; people with impaired motor function)
- Engaging specialists in physical and psychological rehabilitation and expanding the scientific foundation of rehabilitation
- Creating living conditions on the Center's premises during rehabilitation
- Reconstruction and construction of new hangars for animals
Partners
- Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration
- Municipal Non-Profit Enterprise "Regional Clinical Hospital of War Veterans of the Kirovohrad Regional Council"
- NGO "Center for Medical and Psychological Rehabilitation "KOMPAS"
- Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs
- Kropyvnytskyi City Center of Social Services
- Kirovohrad Regional Organization of the Red Cross Society of Ukraine
- NGO "Mother's Heart"
- Inclusive Resource Centers of Kropyvnytskyi
- All-Ukrainian Public Organization "Alpha Self-Defense"
- All-Ukrainian Public Organization "Ukrainian Association of Specialists in Overcoming the Consequences of Psychotraumatic Events"
- Union of Officers of Ukraine
- Association of Professional Chaplains of Ukraine
- NGO "Ukrainian Chaplaincy"
Photos
Contacts
Social networks
