AWP is a national non-governmental not for profit organisation that unites the efforts of veteran communities, businesses and public organisations to improve the quality of life of former military personnel and to connect them to needed resources . It provides training, advocacy and cooperation with veterans, their families and the communities that support them.
Jim Lorraine, president and CEO of AWP, said: “AWP supports Metinvest’s comprehensive approach for working with former military personnel. While the U.S. has had an extensive amount of time to develop our veteran-serving programmes, Ukraine will have to go through this in a short time frame. We are happy to share our experience and best practices with Ukrainian veterans in partnership with Metinvest.”
AWP organises the annual Warrior Symposium and brings together hundreds of professionals who work with former military personnel to improve the quality of services for them across the US. At this year’s event, Tetiana Petruk, Metinvest’s Chief Sustainability Officer, spoke about the Ukrainian experience and practices for reintegrating military personnel into civilian life.
In her speech, Tetiana Petruk said: “Metinvest is one of Ukraine’s first companies to apply a systematic approach for working with veterans. Our programme is comprehensive and covers all stages of interaction with former military personnel. I am confident that the practical experience of the Group, which employs around 52,000 people, excluding mobilised employees, of whom over 70% are men, will be useful to the government in improving bureaucratic procedures and identifying the services that veterans primarily need.”
In addition, Metinvest representatives participated in the event in support of Ukraine’s interests in the US. Among the participants were American and Ukrainian diplomats, military, representatives of the Ukrainian community and think tanks. . At the Ukraine House, the main venue for exchanging ideas among all friends of Ukraine, Group spokesperson Tetiana Petruk spoke about the strategy of Ukraine’s largest private company for working with veterans. They also organised a virtual “Space of Rethinking” tour for all those interested, allowing a look at Zaporizhzhia, a city destroyed by shelling, and suggesting what it could become after its restoration.
