"If there was a choice - to go or not to go to war, I would not have gone. But there was a choice - to go or hide. The second option did not suit me," - this is how Vladyslav explains his decision to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
A 27-year-old man is a veteran and a client of the Adaptation Center for Homeless People and Those Released from Places of Deprivation of Liberty of the "Light of Hope" NGO.
Vladyslav is originally from Lysychansk. He first went to prison when he was seventeen. He served his sentence in December 2023. He found himself at large without support and without means of subsistence.
"All my relatives are in the Luhansk region in the occupied territory. How are they, I don't know. I wanted to find them, but I lost contact with them due to the full-scale invasion," the man explains.
In the penitentiary service, Vladyslav was given contacts of the Adaptation Center. That's how the man ended up in Poltava:
"I decided to reform myself. No more surprises. Live normally. Work. Get married, have children.” “
When Vladislav came to us, he still had a youthful attitude towards some things. He was a bit confused. This is understandable, because he was left alone. And we were unfamiliar people to him. Gradually he adapted,” recalls social worker Hanna Lebedeva.
Vladislav found a job. In particular, he worked in the frontline zone for six months, but his employer deceived him. This slightly derailed the man. However, when he turned 25, he made a serious and considered decision — he voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"I chose my path. Because I was already wanted when I lived in Luhansk Oblast. I didn't want to hide anymore. I became a stormtrooper, fought in Kursk Oblast. It so happened that I was wounded in the eye," the man says.
Нині Владислав — ветеран, оскільки пораненим оком нічого не бачить. Він знову живе у Центрі адаптації, працює і каже: пережитий досвід дуже його змінив. Навіть до попередніх планів про світле майбутнє почав ставитися більш реалістично. Тепер хоче мати стабільну роботу, фінансову подушку, хороше житло. А вже потім — родину, оскільки це велика відповідальність, до якої треба підготуватись.
Діяльність Центру здійснюється за підтримки програми соціального забезпечення та соціального захисту населення Полтавської міської територіальної громади «Турбота».
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