IDP payments of 2–3 thousand UAH are at risk: who the restrictions affect

The start of the school year has once again highlighted the issue of payments for some families of internally displaced persons. Difficulties can arise for families with children studying remotely, as well as for young IDPs after reaching 18 years of age.

One issue concerns children who left their homes because of the war but continue to study remotely in their Ukrainian schools. Among them are students of institutions relocated from temporarily occupied territories or combat zones.

In fact, the family's circumstances do not change: the child remains an IDP, lives far from home, and studies under the Ukrainian curriculum. The only difference is the format — instead of attending class, the student connects to lessons online.

It is precisely the form of education that can create problems when determining a family's eligibility for state support. Representatives of IDP public organizations believe that remote learning itself should not be a reason to lose assistance.

Another problem arises after reaching adulthood. When a young person turns 18 years old, their status for awarding assistance is already evaluated by different criteria.

At the same time, an adult student does not necessarily become financially independent. They may continue their studies and remain supported by their parents.

The rules for granting housing assistance to IDPs take into account the status of a non-working able-bodied person. Factors such as the student's age and form of education can be significant.

For this reason, the issue of continuous support for young displaced people after 18 years has already been proposed to be regulated separately. The idea is that becoming an adult while studying should not lead to a sharp change in access to assistance.

Currently the basic amount of housing assistance for IDPs is 2000 hryvnias per month for an adult. For children and people with disabilities, 3000 hryvnias are provided.

Co-founders of the public organization “VPO Ukraine” Maksym Tkachenko, Serhiy Kozyr, and Ruslan Horbenko have called for a review of the current approach to supporting displaced people. They propose eliminating provisions that, in their view, create unequal conditions for certain categories of IDPs.