How to equip an accessible bomb shelter? Fight For Right experience
At Fight For Right we do not just talk about the issues of lack of accessible shelters for people with disabilities, which greatly increases the risk to the life of each and every one of us, our relatives and friends during russia’s air attacks on Ukraine. We are showing an example of how this problem can be overcome.
So, after half a year of monitoring dozens of shelters in different areas, together with activists, we have decided and arranged two accessible shelters in the Solomensky district of Kyiv – on Borshchagovska Street and Vaclav Havel Boulevard.
Tetiana Herasymova, Director of Fight For Right, emphasized: “The lack of properly equipped shelters makes it impossible to save lives during bombings. People with disabilities for the most part do not even have a choice what to do during an air-raid alert. They stay at home invariably, because there is simply nowhere to hide.
For me personally, as a wheelchair user, this problem becomes especially urgent. I cannot even consider the possibility of returning to Ukraine until this situation changes. Therefore, I urge you to continue the struggle for accessible shelters for all citizens. “
Karyna Hrytsyuk, the project manager of Fight For Right, during the presentation of the shelter on Borshchahivska St., asserted: “The implementation of pilot projects has shown that the creating accessible environments does not require any unrealistic money. We hope that it will be possible to continue this activity further, and our example will be followed.”
We started work only after consultations with an expert on architectural accessibility and inclusive social practices Volodymyr Vysotsky. The process of arrangement was long. We carefully selected shelters, consulted with the local community and authorities, developed a plan together, purchased all the necessary materials and arranged shelters. We tried to maximize the use of available resources, because there are many nuances in ensuring accessibility. In the shelter there are no stairs, installed handrails, tactile scheme of shelter, tactile stripes on the floor and information signs on the walls in Braille. There are reflective stripes, comfortable benches. A bathroom was also made in the shelter, which is accessible to everyone, including wheelchair users, etc.
Volodymyr Vysotsky hopes that other organizations, institutions, local governments will take up the initiative to equip accessible shelters and will do it even better.
“The air-raid shelter can be not just a cluttered basement, in which some things are scattered. We see a lot of that. There are bomb shelters that are like dungeons. If citizens do not demand accessibility, if there is no certain pressure, then it is very difficult for public organizations and activists to change the system. But we really hope that this will launch the impetus for the development of this topic through us, and we will continue working, improving, learning from mistakes, so that more shelters in Ukraine will be accessible to everyone, “he said.
Vice Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine Timur Tkachenko attended the presentation of the shelter and wished to work more actively with the authorities, activists and local communities in synergy to ensure accessibility: “I want to wish that there are more such organizations, such people who are really rooting for this issue. Then we will have more facilities and the country will be more accessible. “
Deputy of the Kyiv City Council, Deputy Head of the Commission on Digital Transformation and Administrative Services Ksenia Semenova, who throughout the process actively supported the implementation of accessible shelters in Kyiv, noted: “If we say that Ukraine is about dignity, we are fighting with the russian federation, and we are now fighting for our existence, then we must respect each other in society first of all. However, in Kyiv for 2024 there is no money for bomb shelters in residential buildings. This means that we will not have new lifts for people with disabilities in residential buildings so that shelters are available for them. Almost no measures for barrier-free “old” objects…. And if the city is inconvenient for some category of citizens, it is inconvenient for everyone, because we can not limit ourselves and pretend that someone does not exist in this world. “
We have improved the availability of pilot air-raid shelters and gained useful experience, thanks to which we made appropriate conclusions and are ready to share with everyone who wants to ensure the availability of shelters in their communities for people with disabilities and low-mobility people. In particular, the team developed a methodology for assessing the architectural accessibility of civil protection structures, which was presented during the event. Contact, send questions by mail to the project manager Karyna Hrytsyuk k.hrytsiuk@ffr.org.ua or to the organization’s email: info@ffr.org.ua
Act and you will succeed!
