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“Do you believe that mental health support for Ukrainians is important? We do.”—Paul Niland, founder of Lifeline Ukraine
Fresh from walking the streets of Dublin with thousands of people who protested Trump’s golf visit, I am reflecting on the goodness of people.
I heard from multiple Dubliners this morning, who read my “Shaving Thorns Off Roses” report from the protest. Among them, our Dublin-born guest for this week, Paul Niland, a reporter based in Kyiv, who also founded Ukraine’s first suicide hotline, Lifeline Ukraine.
Bette Dangerous is setting out to become a Founder, by helping Lifeline Ukraine raise €10,000 so they can continue their very important work, which they have had to put on pause as grant funding ran out.
Here is a link if you wish to make a contribution to our goal:
Your generous donations can help restart Lifeline Ukraine, which was founded in the aftermath of Russia’s initial invasion in 2014.
Its founder Paul Niland has been in Ukraine for 25 years, through two revolutions and two phases of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In his “spare time” he’s a journalist writing for Byline Times, among other outlets.
Here is his most recent contribution to Byline, the report “Ukraine’s Stolen Children.”
His main job and what he calls his proudest professional accomplishment is running Ukraine’s national suicide prevention hotline.
Achievements
Since 2019, Lifeline Ukraine had provided 133,040 instances of support. Of those, roughly 15% were crisis cases where there was the real threat of an imminent loss of life. “That means 20,000 lives were saved, at a minimum, by this organisation,” Niland explained. “And 20,000 families were spared the grief of losing a loved one through suicide.”
Donation info
I have watched Niland and his team struggle to work from grant to grant, and now they are taking a different approach, crowdfunding to meet a goal that he hopes will sustain their efforts over the long term.
“We have a fundraising goal of €2.5 million,” Niland told Bette Dangerous. “We intend to get there in €10k chunks. Some individuals may be able to take a Founders’ spot themselves, some companies (mostly Ukrainian) will become a part of the Foundation, but many folks who feel this topic is important to them will have the means to contribute smaller amounts, that’s why we created the Communities. The Bette Dangerous community can come together with 100 or 340 or 722 donations (any amount is gratefully received) to collectively get to the €10k goal.”
Niland added: “The need for psychological support in Ukraine has never been greater than over the past four years, and it will remain critical for many years to come. Following the onset of the full-scale war, demand for Lifeline Ukraine’s support surged by 400% in 2022 alone. Ukrainians desperately need Lifeline Ukraine to resume operations. However, to effectively serve the nation, we must build a system impervious to future funding pauses or gaps in availability.”
I am hoping Bette members who can afford to will make a donation in any amount and become inaugural members of The Lifeline Ukraine Foundation.
Together, we have helped finance a war film in Ukraine, provided relief for a displaced family in Gaza, provided support for a Ukrainian voluneteer who lost his home, and helped soldiers in the field with life-saving equipment.
I hope you can join us tomorrow to hear from Paul Niland directly and to share this fundraiser with your networks.
“The people who reach out to us are young and old, military and civilian, gay and straight, male and female,” said Niland. “The only common factors they share is that they are Ukrainians, and they are in deep distress when they call us.”
A heartfelt welcome to all new members, and a huge thank you to those who have been supporting my work with monthly, annual, and Founding Member subscriptions.
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More info about Bette Dangerous: This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter, author, and broadcast news veteran, as well as former music and nightlife columnist for the Los Angeles Times. A No. 1 Amazon best-selling author and award-winning film director, Cuda writes the Hot Type column in Byline Times, an independent UK-newspaper. She executive produced the film Kherson: Human Safari. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism, arts, and culture reporting.
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Begin each day with a grateful heart.
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