Community

The core activity of Oselya is organizing the life and work of a community of people experiencing homelessness. This is a union of individuals who live and work together, manage a shared household, solve life challenges, and support those who are even more vulnerable than themselves. Despite the challenges caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war, the community continues to grow and develop.

Throughout 2025, 55 people lived in the community. During the year, 9 companions signed declarations with family doctors, enabling access to medical examinations and treatment (3 received inpatient care, and 1 person obtained disability status). Two companions restored lost documents, and three collected the necessary paperwork to receive social benefits.

Companions receive psychological support, and the new ones participate in social training – three-month courses that include addiction therapy, personal development training, and the history of the Emmaus movement. In 2025, two such training courses were held. Companions struggling with addiction also attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Our companion, Stanislav Stavytskyi, who successfully completed resocialization in the community, restored relationships with his parents, found a partner, and got married. We wish the newlyweds a happy future!

At the social hostel of Oselya (Lviv, 2 Uhorska St.), 7 adults and 1 child lived – individuals who successfully completed resocialization and integrated into society. This year, companion Lesia Zhuk moved from the community into the hostel.

In July, companions visited the hostel to see the completed renovations: rooms, kitchen, bathrooms, new furniture, and appliances. This was made possible thanks to the “Ukraine Fund” organized by our partners Emmaus Europe.

29 companions of Oselya are defending Ukraine, either voluntarily or through mobilization. Two have been demobilized after combat, one of whom sustained severe injuries. With deep sorrow, we said farewell to our companion Oleksii Makharinov, who was killed in action defending Ukraine. Pavlo Liman is officially listed as missing in action, we mourn and continue to hope for his return. Companion Nazar Murdza was posthumously awarded the “Order of Saint George.”

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Social Enterprise: Collection of Goods

To generate income for the community’s needs and solidarity initiatives, Oselya operates a social enterprise.

The main activity is collecting items from city residents that are no longer needed but still usable (clothing, shoes, small appliances, books, dishes, toys, etc.). Collection is carried out through 40 containers located at OKKO gas stations, parishes, and residential associations. A truck also collects large items (furniture, appliances) directly from residents. Thanks to humanitarian aid from Emmaus Fredriksdal, we installed 6 new containers this year and expanded our network.

In total, approximately 1,183,373 kg of clothing was collected in 2025. Most of it – 1,072,223 kg – was sorted and reused: distributed daily for free to homeless and low-income individuals at the Support Center (12,164 distributions in 2025), or offered in exchange for donations to fund meals and hygiene services. Additionally, items were donated 23 times to NGOs and charitable foundations.

Since the first days of the war, unsuitable clothing of appropriate colors has been repurposed for camouflage nets. In 2025, we provided volunteers with 403 bags (4,030 kg) of materials.

Environmental responsibility is also key: 32,754 kg of unusable clothing was sent for recycling.

Another 111,150 kg of items could neither be reused nor recycled (broken toys, damaged shoes, worn-out textiles, household waste). The Lviv City Council supports us by arranging waste removal.

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Social Enterprise: Charity Shops

Two charity shops are the main source of income for sustaining the Community and carrying out solidarity actions. Here, for a charitable donation, one can obtain items that city residents donate.

The Emmaus–Oselya charity shops in Vynnyky and Lviv are always busy, as by purchasing an item here, a person does three good deeds at once: supports those in need, cares for the environment, and receives a good-quality item for a small donation.

At the “Workshop of Good Deeds” of Emmaus–Oselya, located at the social dormitory in Lviv, art workshops, literary meetings, educational games, English courses for children, wellness exercises for adults, a chess club for adults and children, and meetings with a psychologist take place. During the year, 46 children and 22 adults attended the activities. Our visitors include internally displaced persons who find it difficult to integrate into a new environment, women or children of combat participants, mothers who lost their children in the war, children from large families, and others. All of them need support and comfort.

For them, 12 excursions to theaters, parks, and museums were organized, 9 meetings with interesting people were held, and 2 fairs took place where children presented their creations and raised funds for meals for homeless people. A psychologist provides individual consultations to each visitor, and there were 81 such consultations during the year. Visitors to our Workshop of Good Deeds also actively participated in events held in Lviv as part of the “Month of Older Persons.”

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Social Enterprise: Furniture Workshop

Throughout 2025, the furniture workshop operated in the basement of the Workshop of Good Deeds in Lviv, at 2 Uhorska St.

In the workshop, old furniture is given new life, and wonderful transformations take place with clothing and household items, because there are no unnecessary things, just as there are no unnecessary people.

In total, in 2025, 204 pieces of furniture (sofas, armchairs, dressers, etc.) were repaired

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Olesya Sanotska Support Center 

The Olesia Sanotska Support Center operated successfully, providing services to 2,675 people throughout the year.

Thanks to the Center’s work, people experiencing homelessness:

1. Received consultations from a social worker and a psychologist
2. Were provided with necessary hygiene products
3. Received sanitary and hygiene services (showers, haircuts, laundry)
4. Received necessary clothing and footwear
5. Had access to hot meals

An important achievement is that a doctor consults at the Center’s medical office twice a week. We thank the doctors of the 6th City Polyclinic of Lviv and “Expert” Hospital for their cooperation. Patients received 40 referrals for fluorography and 31 referrals for lice treatment, as well as necessary medications and nursing care.

Visitors receive professional social support: counseling, representation of their interests, and accompaniment to government institutions to restore and obtain documents. We thank the Maltese Aid Service for cooperation.

In cooperation with the charity organization “100% Life,” we conducted screenings for tuberculosis, HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis.

At the Support Center, we also offer leisure activities: chess and table tennis, and 27 movie screenings with coffee and treats were held.

We installed powerful ventilation and modern waterproofing in the sanitary facilities to ensure proper conditions, allow for a large number of hygiene services, and ensure that clients feel comfortable and clean.

In December 2025, the Emmaus–Oselya Community took part in a social campaign to support homeless people initiated by the Lviv City Council and partner institutions.

In June 2025, the Lviv City Council approved a new Comprehensive Program to Overcome Poverty for 2025–2027, in the development of which Oselya actively participated.

For the first time in Lviv’s history, our organization was recognized as the winner of a competition announced by the Department of Social Protection. With budget funding, we will provide in-kind social assistance to homeless people at the Support Center.

During this devastating war, the Support Center has become a “Noah’s Ark” for hundreds seeking help and comfort. Its operation is sustained by the Community’s earnings and charitable donations.

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Actions of solidarity 

Throughout 2025, every Thursday, the Community prepared meals for around 100 homeless people and distributed them at 2:00 PM in the city center.

During outreach work, we invite people to use the services of the Support Center. In 2025, 52 outreach visits were conducted.

Residents of Lviv who wished to contribute joined these efforts, including first-year social work students from the Ukrainian Catholic University.

Staff of Saint Nicholas Kindergarten joined a memorial initiative for Holodomor victims by contributing to food distribution.

We are proud to act as a bridge between those who want to help and those in need, and to encourage younger generations to care for vulnerable people.

On December 4, 2025, Saint Nicholas visited the food distribution and gave 300 gifts.

At Christmas and Easter, we invited visitors to share festive meals together.

In July 2025, we provided essential items to families who lost their homes due to shelling in Lviv.

Membership in the International Emmaus Movement

Since the beginning of its activity, Oselya has cooperated with and learned from the International Emmaus Movement, which helps homeless people and those who have found themselves on the margins of society in nearly forty countries around the world. Since 2010, Oselya has been a full member of the International Emmaus Movement, participating in meetings of the Ukrainian-Polish Emmaus collective and regional Emmaus Europe gatherings.

The International Emmaus Movement is proud of our courageous stance during the war and supports our solidarity actions, and we, in turn, are proud to be part of this wave of solidarity and mutual support.

This year, Emmaus Europe provided financial support for the renovation of the social dormitory.

Throughout 2025, we received 14 trucks of humanitarian aid from our friends from the communities Emmaus Longjumeau (France), Emmaüs Troyes, Blau-Gelbes Kreuz e.V., and others.

We are grateful for this assistance and distributed it to those who need it most, in cooperation with 12 non-governmental organizations and volunteer groups, as well as through the Olesya Sanotska Support Center.

Four of our companions took part in the football championship for peace and human rights organized by Emmaus Europe in Dijon (France).

In May 2025, the “Eastern Europe” collective meeting took place in Satu Mare (Romania). Our community was represented by Khrystyna Korniyenko and Olha Biyanska. Participants analyzed the economic models of Emmaus communities and also dedicated significant time to the topic of the war in Ukraine: the daily life of Ukrainian citizens, the activities of the Oselya community during the war, and prospects for the coming years.

In September 2025, over the course of two days, 23 women from the Emmaus movement representing 9 European countries gathered in Paris to improve their leadership skills and share valuable experiences. From the Emmaus–Oselya Community, Nataliia Sanotska and Liubov Danyliv participated.

In April, we hosted a companion from the Emmaus Greenwich community (United Kingdom), Stuart Maxwell, for two weeks.

We are happy that our friends from Emmaus communities across Europe hear us, understand us, and support us in every possible way.

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Leisure and Learning

Companions and staff of Oselya actively participate in trainings, promote the organization’s mission, enrich their own experience, and lead healthy lifestyles.

This year, companions went on two excursions, attended a concert at the Lviv Organ Hall, visited the charity concert “Songs Born in Lviv,” organized by the Society of the Blind (UTOS) at the Maria Zankovetska Theater, and also took two recreational trips to the forest.

Employees of Oselya responsible for key areas of the organization’s work held a two-day offsite meeting, during which they discussed the operation of the social enterprise and the psychological climate within the community. Together with the organization’s Board, they also discussed strategic planning for 2026.

The Executive Director of Oselya, Nataliia Sanotska, completed an internship in the Czech Republic under the “Waste Management” program supported by the Partnership Foundation (Czech Republic). This was an excellent opportunity to see how modern systems of sorting and reuse operate and to gain valuable experience.

External Relations

Oselya continued active cooperation with Ukrainian and international organizations.

Throughout the year, Ukrainian media showed interest in the activities of Oselya, as we are, without exaggeration, experts in supporting homeless and vulnerable people.

During the year, Oselya was visited by numerous guests. Among them, as part of study visits, were local government officials, representatives of municipal enterprises, and other community structures from various regions of Ukraine.

As part of the training program “Residency: From Waste to Value” by Unbroken University, representatives from Kyiv, Odesa, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv regions visited our sorting facility. Participants immersed themselves in the topic of effective waste management and studied practical approaches that can be applied in their own communities.