Provide safe harbour to people seeking refuge

Across Athens, the need for food and hygiene items remains at a critical level. In recent weeks our team has received a growing number of requests via our emergency hotline for essential items.  We have been helping families put food on the table, providing dignified assistance and referring people to specialist organisations. 

This past period has seen the closure of the only camp in Athens and accommodations for people with vulnerabilities, putting 14,000 people at risk of homelessness. Not only this but the Greek government has been implementing a policy which has resulted in thousands of people being excluded from food provision for over 300 days.  

Thanks to donors like you, we have expanded our emergency response to reach 200% more people than we did 3 months ago! We provide more than 200 families with food, dignity kits, and case management services. We also serve as the “missing link,”  referring people in need to a range of services offered by a network of partners, including emergency housing, legal-aid, and support for women who have experienced trafficking. 

As we grow the program we have developed our services into holistic support for people affected by increasingly harsh policies, including reduced eligibility for accommodated housing, food access, and cash assistance. Our team consist of Greek social workers, and people with lived experience as refugees. In the past three months we have:

• Supported over 1,900 forcibly displaced men, women and children
• Provided 137 medical referrals 
• Managed the cases of 80 people 
• Referred over 90 people to other organisations, such as for legal-aid and accommodation support

This project has so far supported more than 6,555 people. This month alone we provided food packages to close to 200 families and partnered with The Saffron Kitchen Project, which offers hot meals of kibbel, taboule, kebab and other culinary delights popular in the native cuisines of the countries where many refugees come from. Moreover, they equip refugees with professional culinary skills. 

We still have a waiting list for food support, and hope that with your support we can continually expand our services. Thank you for standing in solidarity with us and for providing dignified assistance to those experiencing the worst effects of forced migration. 

If you have any questions or would like additional information, don't hesitate to contact me at hoc@lighthouserelief.org. 

In Solidarity,

Chloe