Save Haven

The war in Ukraine has resulted in millions of refugees, including orphaned children. Not only have these children experienced complex developmental trauma, but they are also experiencing the trauma of war. Driven by Professor Stefan Allesch-Taylor’s initiative, in partnership with the Lviv Regional Military Administration, New Horizons for Children, Inc. (NHFC USA) and New Horizons for Children Ukraine (NHFC UKR), ISD helped evacuate and support over 2,000 children from the embattled areas of eastern Ukraine. For those groups wanting to stay in Ukraine, temporary accommodations were made in thirty emergency shelters in the Lviv Oblast. However, these local institutions are only able to accommodate short-term needs. Therefore, there is a need to provide displaced, vulnerable children with a safe and nurturing environment that can accommodate them until a time when they can be placed in a home or safely return to their original region.

The Save Haven Campus and Save Haven Village projects address displaced orphaned children's immediate housing and health needs. They were designed in collaboration with international and Ukrainian child development, infrastructure, and energy experts, following best practices from research in interventions for children with complex developmental trauma. Save Haven Campus is an emergency project responding to a humanitarian crisis. The project developed a strategy for the renovation of an existing site with unused buildings to be implemented in the short term, providing a home for around 600 children and their caregivers.

The Save Haven Village will be developed on an unused parcel of land, offering a supportive community for long-term placement of orphaned and vulnerable children in state care, many of whom with special medical and welfare needs. Focused on well-being and education, Save Haven Village will provide a safe environment for around 1,500 children, staffed and managed by carefully selected experts, providing a high-impact solution during the war and a powerful contribution to a better future for Ukraine. Following ISD’s Resilient Neighborhood Model, the development strategy for the overall site integrated housing into a comprehensive concept addressing topics such as sanitation, water treatment, energy, accessibility, and green infrastructure. The site was designed according to a replicable system that can be implemented in different locations in Ukraine and other countries where better residential care for vulnerable children is urgently needed, both during crises and to improve facilities generally.