In the Heart of Moldova, Ukrainians Uprooted by War Find Space to Hea

“I came to Moldova alone, with no family and no children to turn to.”

Most days, Yuri can be found in the courtyard of a Mental Health Community Centre in Chișinău, Moldova’s capital. Here, he takes part in therapeutic activities that help him manage his feelings and maintain a sense of balance. Loneliness weighs heavily on him, yet the centre gives him moments of connection that ease its weight.

“I feel good here, but everything is new to me in Moldova,” he says. “Sometimes it’s fun at the centre. I also talk to people who stay here, but I don’t really have friends. Maybe it’s because I’m already old.”

With support from the centre in Chișinău, Yuri is learning new ways to navigate the challenges of displacement. Photo: IOM/Riccardo Severi

Not far from Yuri, another familiar face at the centre is Ana, 73, who often sits beside her friend Alla, 79. Ana is from Moldova but had been living in Odesa before the war, where she worked as a cleaner at a university.

“I liked cleaning,” she says. “As a child, I always helped my mother, since she needed support caring for my younger brother.”

When the full-scale war began, Ana’s family urged her to return to Chișinău. Though reunited with her relatives, she struggled with sadness, anxiety, and depression. Reluctantly, she agreed to seek counselling.

“I was feeling very low,” she says. “At first, I didn’t want to come to this centre, but in the end, here I am.”

Ana was admitted in July 2023 with severe anxiety, insomnia, and constant restlessness. In the first weeks, she joined individual and group counselling, art therapy, outdoor walks, and team games. Gradually, she found the strength to cope. She became more sociable, her sleep improved, and her sense of well-being returned.

“I found my home here,” she says. “Now I am not afraid anymore.

Ana’s journey to healing is made lighter by the presence of her friend Alla, as they both attend activities at the centre in Chișinău. Photo: IOM/Riccardo Severi

Also seeking support at the centre is Marharyta, 25, known to her friends as Margo. Originally from Ukraine, she arrived in Moldova about a year ago. She has struggled with eating disorders since she was 15.

A few months ago, her condition worsened and she realized she could no longer cope on her own. That was when she decided to seek help, she explains.

In Ukraine, Margo earned a degree in applied mathematics, later teaching children and working as an analyst. The war forced her to leave behind her family and her job, a loss that left her feeling uncertain about her future.

“I never wanted to ask my family for help because I thought I was strong enough,” she says. “I was wrong. When I came here, I realized there are people ready to support me. Never be afraid to ask for help.”

The centre in Chișinău offers Margo a safe place to share her experiences and find support. Photo: IOM/Riccardo Severi

During the first days of the war in February 2022, Moldova felt the impact immediately as thousands crossed the border seeking safety.

“Authorities mobilized across different sectors to coordinate the country’s response. That included setting up mental health services,” explains Arkady Astrakhan, director of Chișinău’s Mental Health Community Centre – the largest of 41 such centres nationwide.

Since 2023, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been supporting the centre by expanding specialized Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services for people displaced from Ukraine. These include mobile team interventions, psychiatric and psychological counselling, socio-relational activities, art therapy, housing for older persons and people with disabilities, and an addiction recovery programme.

Currently, IOM provides nearly 90 per cent of the centre’s services, ensuring that people with severe and complex needs who would otherwise go untreated receive essential care. This is reinforced by staff training on burnout prevention, psychosocial support, and managing complex cases.

Counselling, activities, and simple human connection make the centre in Chișinău a place of support for those uprooted by war. Photo: IOM/Riccardo Severi

“Although new measures were introduced to provide medical care to people displaced from Ukraine, those living with chronic or severe mental health conditions still faced serious gaps in services. IOM has played an important role in addressing those gaps,” says Astrakhan. “Supporting people with such complex needs can be challenging, but it is also deeply meaningful.”

Just an hour’s drive from Chișinău, the Mental Health Community Centre in Orhei has also been refurbished by IOM’s Protection and Shelter Teams. There, individuals with severe mental health conditions receive tailored support from IOM’s MHPSS team.

Since the war began, 1,080 people displaced from Ukraine have received specialized mental health support through IOM’s mental health programmes in Moldova. A key part of this response has been peer-to-peer initiatives. Ukrainian health mediators – some with medical training, others with lived experience – guide those facing serious challenges and helping connect them to timely care.

In Moldova’s community centres, resilience is found in many forms. For Yuri, it’s in the small conversations that make him feel less alone. For others, it’s in therapy sessions or the quiet reassurance that support is close at hand. Together, their stories remind us that even in the shadows of war, healing is possible.

IOM’s MHPSS work in Moldova is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), and the Governments of Japan and Norway.

This story was written by Riccardo Severi, Olga Derejovschi, and Ana Gnip-Balan with IOM’s Media and Communications Unit and the support of IOM’s MHPSS team in Moldova. A heartfelt thanks go to all the people who shared their story and to the dedicated staff who stand beside them every day.