Psychosocial support — Starlight and mobile MHPSS teams
Psychologists, social workers and child protection officers reaching families in collective shelters and community centres in Kraków, Warsaw and Wrocław — since 2022, with UNICEF and now the HOPE Project.
Our mobile teams were born as an immediate response to people in distress — in transit, in reception centres, in shelters — to mitigate the impact of trauma caused by displacement, loss of family connections and the disruption of everyday life. Since August 2022 they have worked at the Modlińska reception site in Warsaw and then across the Masovian, Lesser Poland and Lower Silesian voivodeships.
From January 2024 to March 2025, as UNICEF's child protection partner on the ground under the Starlight programme, our psychologists, social workers, child protection officers and outreach specialists supported 16 collective accommodation sites in Warsaw, Wrocław and Kraków — reaching 1,717 refugees, including 580 children and 995 parents and caregivers — with children's and women's groups, parenting workshops, individual consultations and safe referrals to legal and GBV services.
In 2025 Vela partnered with the HOPE Project to keep delivering essential psychosocial services, with a focus on accessible, inclusive and compassionate care for both children and adults. Expressive art sessions for children continue at the Aurora Community Centre.
