Denver trauma victim advocate in Ukraine helping victims of war

KYIV, Ukraine ( KDVR ) — Leanna Stoufer never imagined herself working on the ground in Ukraine, helping victims of a violent war that has stretched on for nearly 1,000 days. But she's in that country right now, for the third time, trying to improve the lives of trauma victims.

"Whatever little bit of help I can be to anybody, I do believe that things like that ripple out," Stoufer told FOX31.

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She's part of a program organized by a non-profit called Global Care Force . They send teams of medical professionals and trauma victim advocates to the war zone, to help Ukrainians in small villages where little to no health care exists.

"Everyone, everyone I have spoken to has lost people, they've lost family members to the war, they have people on the front lines. Most of the people that I've spoken with have been displaced at least once, some of them many, many times," she said.

There is an inherent danger in leaving the safety of home and traveling to a war zone to help others. But whether the suffering's next door or half a world away in a country broken, bleeding and battered, she wants to be part of the solution.

"This is really important to me. This is something that I am willing to take a risk for," Stoufer said.

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FOX31's Jeremy Hubbard is traveling with the group in Ukraine. They arrived in Kyiv late Tuesday night, where they saw the remnants of war first-hand.

"This is an apartment building that was bombed four months ago. People died. They lost their lives here," said volunteer Roxanne Alexander Jones, standing outside a damaged high-rise near Kyiv's downtown.

"The threat is real and it's 24-7, you never know and there's bomb shelters everywhere, even in the basement here of this apartment building, but it wasn't enough," she added.

Alexander Jones is a registered nurse who organized the trip for Global Care Force. It's her 15th time traveling to the war-torn country.

"This is my second home. I say Ukraine has half my heart. I feel very comfortable here. I'm not afraid," she said.

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Nearly since the war began, Global Care Force has been sending teams of volunteers here to this country to help those suffering. They plan to work in Ukraine through the end of the week.

To learn more or donate to their non-profit, visit their website.