Annual Report. PATRIARCHAL CURIA UGCC 2019

56 The Commission on Pastoral Health Care organized a special pilgrimage for 100 medical personnel and medical chaplains to Hoshiv monastery . This is the seventh annual pilgrimage organized by the Com- mission as we understand the importance of building a lasting relationship and trust among medical doctors, nurses and our chaplains, who are dedicated to serve the sick and bring hope and comfort to the suffering ones. War veterans and their families have been under our care since the war erupted in Ukraine. We have been providing rehabilitation sessions for war veterans and their families since 2015. This year we con- ducted two rehabilitation sessions, which helped our soldiers to cope with PTSD. These meetings also helped their loved ones to receive special care from our professional team. The Commission on Pastoral Health Care put a special emphasis on serving women with Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS) adopting the "Mission Rachel" program . According to WHO, every year in the world there are an estimated 40-50 million abortions. This corresponds to approximately 125,000 abortions per day. In Ukraine we see an increased number of official numbers of abortions — up to 75 ,000 in 2019 (an increase of 60% from last year). The Commission organized 35-day trainings "Live Hope" for the introduction in the UGCC eparchies/exarchates of the program of support for people with trauma after loss of a child. Attending the sessions were: priests, religious and engaged laity (psychologists, medical personnel etc). An additional training was organized for 18 medical chaplains of the UGCC on March 04-08, 2019 in Lviv. Soc ial ser v i ces for people in need Every year overconsumption of alcohol leads to the death of around 40, 000 Ukrainians According to the official data, the number of registered alcohol addicted persons in Ukraine is over 700, 000. Medical experts believe the real number of alcohol addicts ex- ceeds one million. Every year overconsumption of alcohol leads to the death of around 40, 000 Ukrainians. It contributes to catastrophic demographic situations in the country as well. A related critical problem in Ukraine is alcohol abuse among children and teen- agers. According to the information collected by the World Health Organization, 40% of children ages 14 to 18 in Ukraine are having problems with alcohol abuse. For the introduction of the initiative at the local level the Commission organized 10 presentations of the "Mission Rachel" for 258 persons composed of priests and engaged laity in 9 ep- archies/exarchates of the UGCC. The Commission has also organized three sessions of pilot retreats for persons who lost children (due to abortion or mis- carriage) aimed at helping the participants to forgive, reconcile and restore their spiritual well-being. Altogether 46 participants took part in retreats — women who lost children and priests, willing to serve for the initiative "Mission Rachel". The retreats combined prayer, meditation on Holy Scripture, Confession and psychotherapeutic individual and group work. We have also run a counselling centre for support and guidance (per telephone) for persons with trauma after abortion and other losses of non-born children.