The very first action that AVSI carried out in Italy to support Ukrainian refugees was the creation of an information and coordination point to centralize assistance services and to put in contact people who were offering help with those who needed it.
The project came into being thanks to the initiative of several actors (Associazione Famiglie per l’Accoglienza, Associazione San Martino, Fondazione Franco Verga, Associazione I Bambini dell’Est, Ukrainian NGO Emmaus, Welcomed e CDO Opere Sociali) coordinated by AVSI.
The info point was to be located in Milan, in a proper place offered free of charge by UniCredit: on May 16, the #HelpUkraine Hub was inaugurated.
Services provided:
RECEPTION AND INFORMATION SERVICE
Since March 2022, AVSI staff has been collecting many offers, made by Italian families who wanted to welcome Ukrainian citizens into their homes. As, on the other hand, Ukrainians fleeing the war and arriving in Italy were looking for shelter, AVSI activated an orientation service to assess their needs and the possibility to accommodate them with an Italian family. A dedicated reception and orientation staff was precious to guide such experiences, by providing practical information, psycho-social services or vouchers to purchase essential goods. As of now, the reception service is no longer active, but our staff members are still providing information and orientation: every day, Ukrainian citizens can benefit from an orientation interview, during which they can ask specific questions and receive guidance to handle their stay in Italy.
BUREAUCRATIC SUPPORT
Thanks to the collaboration among AVSI, the Milan Police Headquarters, the San Martino Association and UniCredit, the #HelpUkraine Hub offers help to Ukrainians in filling in all the necessary paperwork, whether they have to apply for a temporary protection permit, report unaccompanied minors, or enroll their children into the school system.
ITALIAN LANGUAGE COURSES
To promote integration - especially in school - and help Ukrainians find a job, teenagers and adults have been able to attend free Italian courses.
JOB
Ukrainian people arriving to Italy urgently needed to find a job to support themselves and their families. In addition to offering information and help in compiling a resume, the Hub also organizes professional training courses and links together companies who are looking for staff and Ukrainian job-seekers.
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
How to access the National Health Service? How to book a medical examination? At the Hub, Ukrainian refugees were able to get support from a cultural-linguistic mediator and help navigating the services provided by the Italian health care system or local associations.
In collaboration with Welcomed, adults and children could also receive specialist visits.
EDUCATIONAL AND INTEGRATION SUPPORT
Ukrainian teenagers and children have been involved in recreational and sport activities.
The services offered by the Hub are provided by involving AVSI's staff and partners, a wide network of volunteers and also UniCredit employees, who chose to dedicate their corporate volunteer day to helping Ukrainian refugees.
The #HelpUkraine Hub laid the foundation for a national assistance network for Ukrainian refugees, that nowadays has spread to 7 Italian regions (Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Campania, Sicily). It involves many different actors - such as institutions, companies, and local associations - who offer the same services initially provided by the Hub in Milan on a national level. An example of this ongoing collaboration: a reception center for Ukrainian refugees was opened in Sarzana (La Spezia province) in a villa which had been confiscated to the mafia.
Goals reached by #HelpUkraine Hub network – 31/12/2022
RECEPTION AND INFORMATION SERVICE
- 1,011 Ukrainians supported in reception process
- 95 host families supported in hosting experience
- 173 vouchers dispensed
BUREAUCRATIC SUPPORT
- 563 counseling interviews
- 442 Ukrainians supported
- 257 appointments booked to police departments
ITALIAN LANGUAGE COURSES
- 294 job counseling interviews
- 81 educational training courses provided to Ukrainians
- 83 successful job placements
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
- 267 medical examinations conducted, of which 77 to minors
- Over 1,300 hours of phone desk support provided
EDUCATIONAL AND INTEGRATION SUPPORT
- 127 pupils supported in schools
- 25 minors supported in the purchase of learning material
- 89 among teenagers and children attending recreational activities
#HelpUkraine network in Italy
- Famiglie per l'accoglienza
- Franco Verga C.o.i
- Emmaus
- San Martino Associazione
- I bambini dell'est
- Consorzio Farsi prossimo
- Cir - Rifugiati
- CDO - Opere educative
- Mondo Aperto
