Hannah Scott is a Belfer Young Leader Fellow in her second year in the Harvard Kennedy School MPP (Master in Public Policy) program. She has been working with First Aid of the Soul since March 2022 as part of the founding team that worked to formally incorporate the charity. Since then, she has worked as the charity’s Director of Operations and sits as a member of its board.
Within days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, like many others I was struck by a profound compulsion to act; I began to look for ways I could lend whatever skill and support to contribute to a charitable effort dedicated to addressing the human cost of the war’s unprovoked brutality. Being part of a deeply engaged international community at Harvard, I was lucky to have already a network of people where I could get immediate advice and support about how to follow through on the idea.
That is how I started working with Nathalie, the founder of First Aid of the Soul (FAS), a charity established to provide mental health services for people affected by Russia’s war against Ukraine. I joined FAS’s leadership team as the director of operations, and ever since I have been working to support the growth and strategy of the charity. Helping to build an organization from scratch can be an intense process, but the sense of purpose and urgency was a sustained motivation. Providing safe, quality and meaningful mental health support for people who have endured severe duress and trauma makes the nature of FAS’s work incredibly sensitive; we know we are asking those we help to put a lot of trust in us. For that reason, it is so important that as FAS grows, we maintain the highest level of assurance and due diligence. By formalizing as a US-based charity, by only working with people we can properly vet and trust, we will be in the best position to do our work long-term. Like some other Volunteering for Ukraine posts have already spoken about, the information environment and fluid insecurity of the war in Ukraine has made it crucial for a charity like FAS be able to demonstrate our credentials. Working to make sure we are building the best team, establishing our due diligence processes, and becoming a formally incorporated and registered charity has been an important way for me to contribute to that.
To date, FAS has already engaged hundreds of people to provide help spanning workshops, support groups, supervision, training, and self-help materials. Our work is always guided by our founding principles to be accessible (working online, in multilingual settings, and with no expectations of any preparation or access to specific knowledge or materials), to be completely sensitive to the unique circumstances of the people we serve (culturally, adopting trauma-centric and holistic approaches), and to provide the highest level of professional support. To date, we can draw on a network of 450+ qualified mental health volunteers to provide multi-lingual and multi-modal support tailored for vulnerable groups affected by the war (including internally displaced persons and refugees).
Our most recent focus has been on delivering a program of support to Ukrainian frontline workers, and we are expanding our services to more and more people in need including children and caregivers, working with schools and refugee charities to help people in need. As we continue to grow, my priorities are to continue to work to find ways we can scale to help more people in a sustained way. On the bureaucratic side of things (there’s no getting away from it!), we are also moving through our application to finalize our 501(c)3 status with the IRS – I think this will be the next exciting milestone that will show FAS as an organization that is here to stay, for as long as we’re needed, for whomever needs us.
As a way to talk about some of the impact FAS is having, I spoke with two of our Ukrainian volunteers about working at FAS. Kate and Max are two of our interpreters – they both help to make our work immediately accessible and understandable to our participants, helping to translate everything from our support groups to our live training to our written materials.
What was it that drew you to volunteer with FAS?
KATE: My story with FAS started when Nathalie and I met online in a professional community for interpreters. I was impressed by FAS’s well-structured and professional attitude and quickly realized that these amazing people had to offer not just mere enthusiasm and good intentions, but solid credentialed competence and strong organization.
MAX: What called me was the fact that I as a person am geared towards this field of work, given my background, so when Nathalie, founder of FAS, graciously presented the plan of action, I knew I could contribute to the cause.
What has been a stand-out moment for you during your time with FAS?
KATE: During one of our workshops for field responders, a Ukrainian provider from a frontline city shared her experience of using the skills learned from FAS facilitators and said that it was something that really made a difference. For me, it was the best acknowledgement and reward for the work we were doing.
MAX: The most immediate moment is when we help somebody in distress right here, right now. For example, somebody feels unworthy even to be present at these meetings, and we are able to attend to this feeling with compassion and salutary humility.
What do you think people get out of FAS’s group approach to providing psychological first aid?
KATE: FAS’s audience mostly consists of providers, social workers, and people with at least some background in mental health. They are extremely excited to get familiar with new state-of-art approaches, but one of the most essential things they learn from FAS is the importance of noticing your own needs and taking care of yourself in order to help others.
MAX: A sense of belonging (constantly engaging the group creates a closely-knit team), potent self-growth tools (we hear from Ukrainian therapists that they find the techniques shared with them useful and impactful), and validation that their work matters and has a positive effect on others.
Where do you hope FAS will be in 6 months’ time?
KATE: The short-term plans are to offer more training and support groups for peer providers, increase its presence on social media, and develop a website. There is a lot of work to be done, and our team is constantly brainstorming and generating new ideas.
MAX: With one of the headquarters in Kyiv, Ukraine, FAS will be providing psychological first aid to people across Ukraine.
What piece of advice would you give to anyone thinking about volunteering with FAS?
KATE: I’d say don’t hesitate to try it! This is an exceptionally professional and friendly team, so volunteering with FAS is not just an opportunity to make a world a little bit better, but also a perfect chance to meet amazing new people and gain some unique experience.
MAX: It would depend on the capacity in which the person was joining FAS, but if it were somebody who is not a therapist, I would say key thing is to keep nourishing one’s heart with a good set of values.
For me, Kate and Max are great examples of the kind of incredible, dedicated people volunteering at FAS. We are always looking for more people to join the team, and we have a burgeoning list of skillsets we’re looking for from social media to web management, from translation to financial planning. If after reading this you would like to get in touch with an expression of interest to volunteer, you can fill out this form.
Otherwise, if you’d like to find more about our work, visit our website or follow our social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram) where you can find out about fundraising for FAS and our future activities.
