\nits Home for Hope program<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
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SolidarityNow supports the most vulnerable people in any way. How? By strengthening, empowering, and enabling them to take back control over their lives, with dignity and self-sufficiency.<\/strong><\/p>\n To achieve this objective, SolidarityNow is implementing the cash transfer project|Cash4Solidarity, <\/strong>for all the beneficiaries of its Hosting and Accommodation \u201cHome for Hope\u201d project, with the support of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid.<\/p>\n The cash transfer project via the use of prepaid cards|Cash4Solidarity<\/strong>, which since November 2016 to April 2017 is implemented in collaboration with Western Union<\/a>, goes a step further than simply providing in-kind support to the refugees. Through this program, the beneficiaries are provided with the freedom of choice<\/strong> to allocate the assistance provided where they deem most appropriate, based on their actual needs, thus strengthening their self-confidence while also supporting a smooth integration pathway <\/strong>towards an autonomous life.<\/p>\n From November 2016 to date, almost 900 prepaid cards have been distributed<\/strong>, to support more than 2,100 SolidarityNow beneficiaries<\/strong>, who are being accommodated in the various facilities of the organization.<\/p>\n All the beneficiaries hosted in SolidarityNow accommodation structures<\/strong> are eligible to receive assistance through Cash4Solidarity<\/strong> \u2013 as each individual or family unit receives one prepaid card, with the amount provided determined solely based on:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The total amount<\/strong> provided so far (November 2016 – April 2017) to support this vulnerable population through the Cash4Solidarity<\/strong> program has surpassed 670,000\u20ac, with 82\u20ac provided on average per beneficiary\/month.<\/p>\n In the scope of the Cash4Solidarity<\/strong> project and in order to educate beneficiaries on the use of the prepaid cards and the ATM machines, SolidarityNow has put in place a multilevel awareness and informational campaign<\/strong> that includes:<\/p>\n The positive impact of the Cash4Solidarity<\/strong> program is multifold and relates both to the beneficiaries directly, as well as to the local communities where the hosting and accommodation structures are situated. Associated benefits include, among others:<\/p>\n \u201cIn SolidarityNow we advocate for the closure of the refugee camps and the relocation of people to the mainland, in urban accommodation structures and under conditions of normality and co-existence with the local population; the Cash4Solidarity program is the vehicle to provide what is needed the most: enhancement of their dignity.<\/em><\/strong> It supports freedom of choice. By supporting their dignity and self-confidence, we take the first step towards their social integration \u2013 regardless of whether they leave for another EU member-state or stay in Greece – to take back control over their own lives<\/em>“, said Epaminondas Farmakis, Managing Director of SolidarityNow.<\/p>\n SolidarityNow aims to expand the Cash4Solidarity program, giving access to all vulnerable population groups – Greeks, refugees, migrants, asylum seekers \u2013 with the sole criterion being their vulnerability.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/cash4solidarity-article.jpg\")
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