Voznesensk plans to allocate ₴1.5 million for the construction of the controversial Mental Health Centre

The memorial alley, where they want to build a mental health centre, is located in front of the Voznesensk City Council building, photo by NikVesti

Voznesensk plans to allocate 1.5 million hryvnias for the construction of a Mental Health and Community Development Centre on the site of a square with «memory trees».

The relevant changes to the Community Socio-Economic Development Programme for 2024-2028 were considered at a meeting of the commission on legality on 4 February, according to NikVesti.

According to the draft decision, the programme's funding is planned to be increased in 2026. Part of the funds, namely 500,000 hryvnias, will be allocated to the new construction of the Mental Health and Community Development Centre at 3 Central Square. Thus, the total amount of planned funding for this project is expected to reach 1.5 million hryvnias.

The final decision is to be made at a session of the city council.

Screenshot of the draft decision

Screenshot of the draft decision

It should be noted that the total cost of the project is 20 million hryvnias, partly calculated for international support. To launch the implementation, the city council at its session on 22 August 2025 transferred the land to the Housing and Communal Services Department as a potential customer for the construction.

We would like to remind you that this concerns the construction of the Centre for Mental Health and Community Development — a project that the Voznesensk City Council submitted to the state platform DREAM.

The Mental Health Centre construction project, published in the DREAM system

A scandal erupted around the construction of the Centre when, during a session of the Voznesensk City Council while considering the issue of the construction of this Mental Health Centre, the mayor of the city, Yevhenii Velychko, began to swear at the deputies because they did not support the draft decision.

The site was chosen close to the city council building, where in 2015 the mothers of fallen soldiers planted trees in memory of their sons. This is what caused the deputies to have doubts and be unwilling to vote for the project. However, the mayor promised to replant all the trees in another location. On the second attempt at the session, the deputies supported the construction issue.

After that, the mayor of Voznesensk, Yevhenii Velychko, explained why he allowed himself to make emotional statements and insults towards the deputies during the city council session.

In the article, NikVesti provided detailed information about the draft decision that caused the scandal and explained why the idea of building a mental health centre provoked such a strong reaction.