We’re helping those facing additional challenges during times of need ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌







Dear friend,

As ongoing conflicts affect millions of people worldwide, there are certain communities that face additional barriers when receiving aid.

That’s the case for LGBTQIA communities, who are among the six million people displaced because of the war in Ukraine. Mercy Corps is working to bring critical aid, mental health support, and legal support to LGBTQIA people who are facing challenges during this ongoing war.
Serhii fled his home in Kharkiv when the war started in Ukraine. He received cash assistance from Mercy Corps partners supporting LGBTQIA communities which helped him to buy clothes, food, and necessary medications.
Serhii Ihnatenko, a 29-year-old electrical engineering graduate, was working and living in Kharkiv when he was forced to flee his home. In an urgent search for safety, he left with a few pieces of clothing, his laptop, and some food for the road as he walked five miles to the nearest train station.

Once at the overcrowded station, he took one of the few evacuation trains heading into the city to escape zones under attack. He had to replace nearly all of his personal belongings.

Through social media, he found a Mercy Corps local nonprofit organization that supports LGBTQ+ individuals with various resources: cash assistance, HIV testing, community building, and psychosocial support. Serhii applied for and received cash assistance, which helped him to buy clothes, food, and medications. He has also been able to make new friends and form connections that are essential to rebuilding in a new community.

Serhii’s story is just one example of how Mercy Corps partners and organizations are helping find legal protection, providing cash assistance, and creating stronger communities for more than 1.2 million people.

Read more about the work Mercy Corps is doing in and around Ukraine to create strong, more resilient, and inclusive communities in the face of violent conflict.
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With support from people like you, Mercy Corps partners with many organizations and communities to provide critical aid to displaced families — and the most vulnerable among them — impacted by war in Ukraine and conflict and disaster around the globe.

Thank you for being part of our community.

Sincerely,

Mercy Corps