Project description:

Challenge: The ongoing war continues to affect countless lives, with no clear end in sight. Communities across the country are facing displacement, destruction, and psychological strain. Children and young people are particularly vulnerable, often exposed to traumatic experiences that can have lasting effects on their mental health and development. As a result, the demand for psychosocial support and professional care has increased significantly. Social projects that offer stability, emotional support, and a sense of safety are more important than ever in helping individuals and families cope with the long-term consequences of the conflict.

Solution: To address these challenges, Porsche AG supports the non-profit organization Arthelps in providing psychological care for those affected through art therapy. Through art, children can express their feelings and experiences in a different way and share them with others. In this way, therapists gain access to the target group and can directly address emerging issues. Inner conflicts, suffering, and negative feelings are made visible through art so that therapists can work with them. As part of this initiative, the partner organization Save Ukraine (located centrally in Kyiv) has welcomed more children and families from eastern Ukraine. The therapeutic measures take place in the so-called “Hope Houses”. There are bunkers in the immediate vicinity in which the staff and project participants can quickly retreat in the event of an air raid.

Result: Since December 2022, the project has been running in Kyiv in collaboration with Arthelps and the Save Ukraine team. Regular creative workshops were established to help children and young people discover, strengthen, and express their talents and self-confidence in a sustainable way. Since the beginning, more than 1,500 therapeutic group sessions and 1,400 individual therapies have been conducted with children, young people, and women (especially mothers and widows), focusing on traumatic stress, symptoms of PTSD, and coping strategies. These sessions provide tools for self-regulation and help build a sense of safety. In addition, online training sessions for art therapists, workshop materials, and a summer camp in a mobile hub were successfully implemented to support the initiative further.

Partners:

Arthelps, Save Ukraine.

Category: Social Change

Company: Porsche AG

About the company: 

Porsche is one of the most successful luxury automotive manufacturers. Since the introduction of the Porsche Type 356  in 1948, the first official Porsche sports car, the Porsche brand has achieved numerous milestones: the introduction of perhaps the most iconic sports car, the Porsche 911; a record of 19 overall Le Mans victories, and the debut of Porsche’s first series production BEV, the Taycan (2019). Today, Porsche honors this legacy with an ambitious technological drive to reduce the impact of vehicles and its operations on the environment.