page_title: Dr. Haass Social Assistance Fund
section_title: Charity
hierarchical_section_title: Dr. Haass Social Assistance Fund / Charity
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Сестры милосердия Центра милосердия имени Матери Марии (г. Одесса, 1990 г.)
context_page_description: Dr. Haass Social Assistance Fund is the first non-profitable non-governmental charitable organization in the Soviet Union, founded on November 26, 1987 in Odessa. It is named after a famous Russian philanthropist, "Saint Doctor", Friedrich Joseph Haass.
  The most comprehensive official study of diverse charitable activities of the Fund has found its documentary reflection in the report of the Standing Committee on Social Policy of the Odessa City Council on May 17, 2000 as well as in the documentary film about the activity of the Fund Independent experts of the Standing Committee estimated the Fund charitable assistance to people in need, and to social institutions, at a total amount of more than eight million US dollars, as of 2000.
context_section_description: During its philanthropic mission the Fund has created and funded a number of charitable organizations and programs that provide social, medical and psychological assistance to a large number of lonely elderly people, the disabled, war and labor veterans, sick children, as well as financial support to kindergartens, schools, hospitals and health centers, various social institutions.
  It is one of the participants of the inaugural conference of the Soviet Charity and Health Fund (September 16, 1988, Moscow, the USSR).
  To prepare the establishment of a free economic zone in Odessa on November 23, 1988 the Fund commissioned a group of economists led by Professor Vladimir Dergachyov, to develop the documents entitled "Prospects of Odessa region on the basis of an open economy", which was delivered to the Fund on April 6, 1989 р.
  The Fund founded  Janusz Korczak Institute of medical rehabilitation of children with central nervous system lesion (September 6, 1989, Odessa, the Ukrainian SSR). For many years Doctor of Medicine, professor, UNICEF expert Irina Viktorovna Galina has been the leader of the Institute. During its activity the Institute has treated more than 12 thousand children with organic and functional diseases of the central nervous system, such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, Down syndrome, epilepsy, autism, and so on.
  Mother Maria Mercy Center (August 9, 1989, Odessa, the USSR). In its three hospitals, located in Odessa (in Gamarnik street, 13, apt 14; Prospect Mira, 37; and Tereshkova street, 12 "b" apt 21), highly qualified doctors and nurses, under the guardiance of PhD Boris Khersonsky at the beginning and later by Vladimir Gemusov (1939–2014), took care of elderly lonely people. The Center staff also provided medical care and social protection to elderly lonely people at home. Two ambulance cars served the Centre.
  Youth Charitable Institution "Humanist" (May 15, 1990, Odessa, the USSR), which with the active participation of high-school students and students of Odessa secondary and higher educational medical institutions, under the leadership of Lyubov Bogomolova,[20] regularly provided social, medical and psychological care for elderly people who live alone. Two ambulance cars served the elderly people.
  The Fund responded to individual requests for support from persons and organizations deserving consideration, namely:
  – Supported solo exhibition of paintings be an Odessa artist Zoya Ivnytskaya in Western Berlin, FRG (October 1989 – January 1990);
  – Provided the necessary support to an Odessa pianist Sergei Terentyev  (1990, Odessa,the Ukrainian SSR);
  – Provided financial assistance to the newspaper "Moscow News", whose office was damaged by the fire (March 14, 1990, Moscow, the USSR);
  – Provided financial assistance to the famous Soviet dissident and human rights activist Valery Abramkyn  «Humanization of the prison system" (April 23, Moscow, the USSR);
  – Provided financial assistance to the first hospice in the Soviet Union (September 26, 1990, Leningrad, the USSR);
  – Provided financial support to the Institute for Economic Strategies  (October 17, 1990, Moscow, the USSR).
  The Fund founded Center for Psychological and Social Support (November 15, 1990, Odessa,the USSR), including youth service helpline, under the supervision of a physician Leopold Mendelson. Every night it provided emergency psychological assistance to young people who found themselves in difficult life situations. Center initiated the creation of the Association of hotlines (1990), the Ukrainian association of telephone consultants (1992), as well as the International Workshop telephone consultants.
  For training the staff for charitable and social institutions at the Richelieu Lyceum College the Fund created Philanthropic college named after Alexander Men on the base of Richelieu Lyceum  (January 1, 1990, Odessa, the Ukrainian SSR). The head of it was a teacher of Mathematics from the Lyceum Dora Chorokayeva.
  Along with the building concern "Primorskiy" (Yuriy Kulbachenko) the Fund organized the program of free renovation of apartm
caption: The staff of the Mother Maria Mercy Center
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