They fought. They came home. Now what?
Ukraine has millions of veterans. Many have served for years. They have watched friends die, made impossible choices, and endured things that cannot be explained to people who weren’t there.
Hopeful Future they deserve
When Ukrainian veterans come home from the war, almost no one reaches in. We do.
The wound you can’t see
A war-hardened, emotionally withdrawn fighter does not draw much sympathy. He does not ask for help. He has spent years giving everything for others, and he comes back not knowing who he is anymore – carrying guilt for those who did not return. Because he does not reach out, almost no one reaches in.
We do.
Veterans supporting veterans
Hopeful Future brings veterans together in small groups for three days, led by veteran facilitators.
Many describe it as the first time since leaving service that they felt genuinely understood. They find new purpose, new friendships, a new direction.
The peer-led, non-clinical programme is grounded in research and the belief that people can find meaning and strength not despite their worst experiences, but because of them.
“When I lost my leg, I was bleeding, dying. Later in the hospital, I wanted to kill myself. But then I realised – if I do that, I betray those who were wounded saving me. People think it’s PTSD. But the hardest thing is not fear or pain, it’s guilt. The feeling that I didn’t save enough people. You don’t heal this by forgetting. Everything I lived through – captivity, pain, humiliation – can help someone else survive. This is why I am alive.”
a veteran, participant of ‘Hopeful Future’ programme
What does it look like in practice
1
groups delivered
1
veterans supported
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towns across Ukraine
Who’s behind all this
The programme was created by Simon Edwards, a British Army veteran and Churchill Fellow who spent 12 years designing veteran rehabilitation programmes (Help for Heroes in the UK and Boulder Crest in the USA). It was built and adapted with Ukrainian professionals and veterans, who made it genuinely their own.
We train veterans to lead these support groups, to scale nationally, to help those who will still be coming back.
We train the leaders of tomorrow to help rebuild Ukraine.
Help us help more veterans!
Every group that runs is because someone decided it mattered