HOSTING & ACCOMMODATION PROGRAMS

SolidarityNow implements in Greece innovative hosting and accommodation programs for refugees and asylum seekers.

Year(s): 2016, 2017

Target group(s): Migrants in Greece

Website: http://www.solidaritynow.org/en/home-for-hope/

Methodology

  • Accommodation in Hosting Families / “Home for Hope”

“Home for Hope” is implemented by SolidarityNow since April 2016 and encourages Greek residents to host asylum seekers in their home. Until 31 December 2016 SolidarityNow had created 720 temporary accommodation places for refugees, 425 in Attica and 295 in Thessaloniki and the wider region. The goal of the program is not only to provide asylum seekers with a more humane form of housing, as compared to a refugee camp, but also to serve as a practical demonstration of “solidarity in action”. Hosting asylum seekers helps form bonds of solidarity between host communities and individuals on the move, by bringing these groups together and positively changing their perceptions of one another. Programs like these serve as models for the development of further acts of solidarity and engagement that can help overcome nationalistic and xenophobic rhetoric.

  • Accommodation in Hotels

SolidarityNow provides refugees and asylum seekers who are eligible for relocation with a wide range of services (information and interpretation services, psychosocial and legal support, recreational and educational activities, case management) with the aim to facilitate their temporary stay in Greece. By the end of 2016, 2729 people have benefited from this program in Athens, Evoia (Rovies), Peloponnese (Kranidi) and Epirus, while being accommodated in UNHCR-leased Hotels.

  • Accommodation in shelters and independent buildings

Accommodation and a wide range of free services (information and interpretation services, psychosocial and legal support, recreational and educational activities, case management) is provided to asylum seekers and refugees in Thessaloniki and Sindos through two independent blocks of apartments and a shelter for vulnerable cases. By the end of 2016, more than 500 individuals have been benefited through these programs.

  • “Safe Refugee” – specialized program for LGBTI refugees and asylum seekers

In order to meet the increased needs and the multiple risks faced by LGBTI refugees and asylum seekers, SolidarityNow implements a specialized housing and support program, known as ”Safe Refugee”, under which LGBTI refugees are accommodated in independent apartments in Athens and Thessaloniki. Participants in the program receive psychosocial support, legal aid, participate in educational and recreational activities and are part of a wider network that aims to improve their living conditions and support them while staying in Greece.

  • Tilos – Pilot Community & Integration project

The Social Care and Development Society of Tilos Municipality is currently running an accommodation shelter for refugees and asylum seekers. The shelter, which was set up in 2015 by SolidarityNow continues to stand out as a unique example of a small local community project that welcomed the refugees and migrants and catered for their smooth integration to society.

Type of product

Brief description of the product / outcome / method

Impact on target groups / Transferability potential

The Hosting and Accommodation Programs continue in 2017, are developed by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO).

Promoter of the initiative

Name of organization / individual: SolidarityNow

Country: Greece

Website: http://www.solidaritynow.org/en/

Contacts: contact@solidaritynow.org

Good practices Events