In a frontline city in eastern Ukraine, a small community center has become a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable people left behind by war.

The center was founded by a 25-year-old local woman who has been volunteering since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022. At the time, she was eight months pregnant. Like many others, she was forced to leave her home and give birth away from her city in the Poltava region, where she first began helping displaced families. What started as small acts of volunteer support, collecting diapers, food, and baby supplies for those in need, slowly grew into a long-term commitment to humanitarian work.

After returning home, she continued volunteering through local organizations, supporting evacuations, shelters, and displaced families. When those organizations eventually closed or left the area, she made the decision to open her own community center, despite the risks of operating close to active conflict, because she could not abandon the people who depend on her.

Today, the center supports more than a thousand people each month. Its focus is on those who are often overlooked: elderly residents, people with disabilities, bedridden individuals, and families who have no means or ability to evacuate. Many are alone and fully dependent on outside assistance for survival.

The most urgent needs are basic but essential: adult diapers, hygiene supplies, wet wipes, baby products, and food packages. Many visitors rely on these distributions simply to maintain dignity and daily survival. Food kits typically include simple staples such as pasta, canned meat, tea, sugar, and cereals. Items that can sustain a person for several days. Clothing, second-hand items, and basic medicines such as fever reducers and pain relief are also distributed whenever available.

Beyond physical aid, the center has become a place of connection. People come not only for supplies, but also for human contact, familiarity, and care. For many elderly residents, it is one of the few places where they feel seen and supported. The space itself was built with help from family and volunteers, often in difficult conditions, without stable electricity, sometimes working by flashlight during outages.

Despite these challenges, the center continues to operate daily. One of the most urgent current needs is reliable power solutions such as portable energy systems, as frequent outages make it difficult to charge phones, maintain communication, and continue distributions safely.

At its core, this initiative is driven by one belief: that people who remain in frontline communities should not be forgotten. As the founder explains, “We cannot leave them. They are like family now.”

This is not just a humanitarian project. It is a commitment to staying, supporting, and protecting people in need for as long as they remain.

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